by: Lorna Wright
LAUDERHILL – Zeisa Sweet Ruggies Pudding & Pie Bakery (“Zeisa”) is a small entity that produces and sells wholesale pastries unique to the Jewish community while catering to the needs of the surrounding communities as a retailer of Jamaican products.
Zeisa has been operational since March 2000 and continues as a viable business with strong community consciousness and participation. The bakery has been able to hold its own with high quality products, competitive prices, and excellent customer service.
Background and History
Proprietor Wilfred Bryan was born in Jamaica, in the parish of St. Mary, but spent most of his youth in Manchester. He had the fortunate experience of living with his maternal grandfather who supplied pastries and other baked goods to the workers on the banana boats at the port in Oracabessa, St. Mary. Through constant observation, he acquired the knowledge and skills about baking at an early age. At age 14, through the help of his older brother, now deceased, he was placed in a bakery called Pudding & Pie in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. After two years, Bryan was hired by Runaway Bay Hotel as Assistant Pastry Chef. Shortly thereafter, he was hired by Trelawny Beach Hotel as a Pastry Chef. He subsequently migrated to the United States in 1980 and worked on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship as a Pastry Chef for four years. In 1984, he was hired by Stearns Bakery that was located at the corner of University Drive and Sunrise Boulevard, where he gained experience in the production of Jewish pastries such as Bobka, Mandel Bread, and Ruggelah. He later worked at Albertsons as a Bakery Manager, Hyatt Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale as a Pastry Chef and further went on to realize his own dream by starting his bakery business.
Initial and Present Operations
Bryan capitalized on his experience in producing Jewish pastries by supplying them on a wholesale basis to businesses that catered to the Jewish community and was well received because of his outstanding customer service. Zeisa is also licensed as a Kosher Dairy bakery, a certification of standard and authenticity designated by rabbinical institutions. Six months later, he established another feature of his bakery by producing and selling some Jamaican pastries, including Bulla and bread. While the startup stage of his business was extremely challenging – he was turned down by several financial institutions, he persevered and remained true to his customers. Additionally, he continued to adhere to strict guidelines and consistency with his recipes to maintain a high quality for his products. Bryan stated “The business is not mine, it is for the customers. I have to appreciate that.”
Zeisa started with one employee and now has four. With support from an industrious and loyal staff, Zeisa has been able to maintain high standards and on-time delivery as a supplier. Highlights of Zeisa’s supplier experience include a six-year relationship with Sunrise-based Barry Back, and Delray-based Famous Marketplace, both of which are Kosher markets – these relationships continue to this day. Also, for the past two years, Zeisa has maintained a subcontract with Publix through prime contractor Jamaica Country Style, delivering about 2,000 Bullas, a Jamaican pastry that is popular throughout southern Florida. The bakery’s wholesale customer base includes Broward, Miami/Dade and Palm Beach Counties while the retailer base is more localized to cities surrounding Zeisa’s business location.
Customer and Community Appreciation
Zeisa has created much goodwill with its customer and community and has created two events to demonstrate its good citizenship as a business. On an annual basis, Bryan gives away flowers during business hours on Mother’s Day and he cooks and gives away meals to patrons and non-patrons alike on Thanksgiving Day. Zeisa has also sponsored reputable charitable events and have donated funds to churches and sports organization, including Netball groups.
Future Dream for Zeisa
Bryan’s future dream is to start a Zeisa franchise in another two years so others can have the opportunity to own a bakery without the challenges he faced. Using his experience, high quality and competitive prices, Bryan, through a Zeisa franchise can provide franchisees with products and help them to keep their labor costs low. With the tenacity he has shown so far, there is no doubt he can accomplish that goal.
Zeisa is located at 4130B N.W. 21st Street in Lauderhill and can be reached at (954) 318-0536.
