Today we’d like to introduce you to Vern Thomas
Hi Vern, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Vern Thomas is a native of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, known as the “American Paradise.” Vern has been a Chef professionally for over 30 years. Started as a culinary apprentice and worked his way up to Executive Chef at some of the best resorts in the Caribbean. He has also enhanced his culinary education at the Culinary Institute of America and the Culinary Institute of Tuscany in Italy.
1995 brought the incredibly destructive Hurricane Marilyn, which left St. Thomas devastated, and led Chef Thomas to move to Orlando. Not to be deterred, Chef began focusing on research and development as Executive Chef for some of the top casual dining restaurants in the country. ⠀
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Virgin Island Thyme began as a small restaurant based in Avalon Park in Orlando Florida. The spark that launched the company came from a passion for cooking and enjoying Caribbean cuisine. In April 2017 Chef Vern and his son Malik decided to follow their passion and opened the original Virgin Island Thyme. What followed were rave reviews as customers enjoyed the authentic and innovative food and outstanding service. The hard work and sound business principles began to pay off.
Virgin Island Thyme has been awarded best Caribbean restaurant in Orlando Fl for 2022 and 2023 by the Orlando Sentinel Readers and Local food critics. Virgin Island Thyme has also been recognized as one of the top ten Black owned businesses in Orlando. We are a restaurant that treats our team members and guests like family. At Virgin Island Thyme we combine Family, Business, Community and Values as a way of life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Virgin Island Thyme is committed to the legacy of Black voices in the culinary landscape. As a Black man and an American Citizen, it is truly challenging to make your mark as a Black Culinarian. Having the ownership mindset is one of the most important elements. I provide mentorship and coaching with my team members and share my journey growing up in poverty to now owning my own restaurant. I freely share my knowledge with my team and encourage them to further their education in culinary arts. I also discuss the importance of having spiritual faith and having the willingness to put in the work while stepping out of the comfort zone. There are a lot of single parent and fatherless homes in our community. I try to make myself available as a positive role model for people in our community that are aspiring to be more than the status quo.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Virgin Island Thyme?
Virgin Island Thyme is a Fast Casual Caribbean Grille. Our menu is inspired by the food and culture of the US Virgin Islands. At Virgin Island Thyme diners are greeted with the aroma of authentic Caribbean dishes. Our most popular dishes include Jerk Chicken, Braised Oxtail, Coconut Shrimp and Rock City BBQ Ribs. Choose your favorite Entrée and then pair it with two sides of your choice like Yuca Fries, Rice and Peas Fried Plantains or even a Johnny Cake.
Virgin Island Thyme has been focused on expansion in 2024. Our goal in the next few years is to grow to 50 restaurant locations nationally. We have started the franchising process and are now offering business opportunities in over 30 states. This is a very involved process and started by obtaining a federal trademark from the United States Trademark and Patent Office. The trademark process took over a year to obtain. We then focused on having a FDD or franchise disclosure document drafted by our franchise attorney. We have created an Operations Manual to help our future franchise partners with clear direction to run their Virgin Island Thyme locations. We have designed our restaurants to be simple and cost effective and locations only need 1200 to 1500 square feet to operate. Our menu has been engineered to cross utilize ingredients and reduce excess waste and inventory. This resulted in a profitable restaurant with a menu that has broad appeal while making it easy to manage. Virgin Island Thyme provides a full week of training and support during the opening process for new restaurants. We are passionate about Black owned business and are also creating business opportunities for generations to come.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Follow your dreams and be willing to step out on faith. Learn every aspect of your trade. Get educated and believe in yourself. It’s only a risk if you don’t know what you are doing.
I really feel that we must take personal responsibility and focus on ownership to make positive change in our communities. It seems at times there is a surplus of college graduates that can’t find opportunities in their respective fields. Through an ownership focus and mindset, it could be transformational for them to think outside the box. The economy is a challenge, and the rising cost of goods make things more difficult. The bright spot is that restaurants are essential businesses that have everyday demand.
I have plans for the future that would include conducting Culinary Business workshops that could help struggling Black restaurant owners. I spent over 20 years as a Corporate Executive Chef for one of the largest restaurant companies in America. I’ve learned over the years in Corporate America that running a successful restaurant has a lot more to it than just serving good food. Many smaller Black owned restauranteurs don’t always have knowledge of many business systems that can boost their restaurant performance.
A few of the topics covered would be:
1. Dish Development and Food Cost- each dish needs to be portion controlled and accurately costed out down to the penny. This will assure your menu prices are sufficient to cover cost of goods and overhead to serve the items. Dishes will target a food cost percentage of 25% to 32%
2. Labor Management and Staffing – This will focus on understanding sales projections based on historical data. Based on every $1000 of sales there is a fixed amount of labor hours allowed to keep labor between 20% to 30%
3. Prime Cost – This is the combination of Food and Labor Cost every month. The goal would be to maintain between 50% to 55% Prime Cost. Managing this category is one of the largest factors that will determine if your restaurant is profitable.
4. Consumer Insights – We would dive into understanding your customers and your target market. Evaluating the menu to ensure you have broad appeal and you are paying attention to customer feedback from online reviews etc.
5. A vs. T – Actual verses Theoretical usage. This system focuses on protein inventory management. Daily Starting inventory minus Daily Actual sales. Evaluate ending inventory to determine if there is any variance. This process helps to determine where product can be lost daily from waste, theft etc. This can be caught daily and no surprises at months end.
6. Restaurant Accounting – Understanding how to read and evaluate your P&L statement. How to identify areas of opportunity and taking action to course correct.
7. Marketing – Focus on Traffic generation. Grassroot strategies to boost your visibility online. The importance of social media and community involvement to get the word out.
There are many more areas of focus, but this gives a snapshot of systems that can be game changing information for struggling Black owned restaurants.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://islandthymegrille.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virginislandthyme/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IslandThymeGrill
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/virgin-island-thyme-orlando
