| May 28, 2005 |
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Dulce opens offices in historic PE hotel By Michael Roux van Zyl THE Port Elizabeth-based Dulce cafe franchise company recently bought a historical Richmond Hill hotel and restaurant to use as its national headquarters, while expanding on its core hospitality business. Dulce, a Port Elizabeth success story which now has franchises around the country, started moving into the former Bayberry Fountain Bed and Breakfast in Lutman Street yesterday. Dulce managing director Mike Pullen said the company had been renting offices in Cape Road and was looking to buy a hotel to host its new franchisees who visit Port Elizabeth for 10-day training courses. “In the past we had to accommodate trainees in bed and breakfasts and now it will save us some cost to have the trainees stay here.” While some rooms would be used for administration purposes and to house and train franchisees, “The Bay”, as the establishment is known colloquially, will still be open to the public, he said. “The name will stay the same, because everyone knows it as ‘The Bay’. The current staff will stay on and with their support we want to elevate the facilities and restore it to its former glory,” Pullen said. The establishment has overlooked Algoa Bay for almost a century and for many years was known as the Clarendon Hotel. Pullen said their investment was a vote of confidence in the area and would be part of Richmond Hill and Central’s revitalisation. “When we started looking for a hotel we had Richmond Hill in mind, because we like the area and its people,” Pullen added. Dulce goes back almost two decades to 1984 when its first cafe was opened in Rink Street, Central. Lee Caldecott and his wife, Licia, took over Dulce six years later. With Lee responsible for store design and Licia for menu research and development, the Caldecotts grew their business to three other cafes in the Eastern Cape. Soon, they began receiving numerous requests from people seeking to replicate the Rink Street branch. Following these requests the Dulce concept was franchised in 1994 and it has since grown to a network consisting of 54 continental-style cafes situated in shopping malls, hospitals, universities, office blocks and airports nationwide. Dulce has already opened two new franchises in 2005 and 10 more will be rolled out this year. Global expansion next year was also being planned, Pullen said.
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