In celebrating Women’s Month, the CCID spoke to female leaders in government, business and civic society in the Central City. We published some of their comments in the Winter 2016 issue of City Views. Here is a Q&A with Jacqui Biess, owner of Charly’s Bakery.
What brought you to the CBD in the first place?
When you’re in the CBD, you’re 15 minutes away from anything and everything. It’s a sustainable way to live and work – and it gets us an extra hour of sleep. A bonus is that property prices have escalated wonderfully.
How long have you been doing the kind of work you do and why do you do it?
Charly’s started out in 1989 as a breakfast-lunch restaurant in Thibault Square. My husband, Charly, was trained as a German confectioner, so he always made the cakes and pastry for our pies. In later years we developed it into the bakery-only concept. Now we have 39 employees in our premises and everything is made on site.
Restaurants were a very different story 27 years ago. I really love going out to eat, and back then I seldom found the kind of experience I was looking for. So I was turned on by the idea of creating a good quality eatery that provided choice to the customer. I jumped in head first and learnt as I went along, as I’ve always done with businesses I’ve been involved in. It’s important to do what you love and not what you perceive to be popular. You will find likeminded people will come to you.
What do you still want to see happen in the CBD that would bring more business to the area or complement your own business?
I’m really excited about what’s happening in the CBD. My answer now is very different from what it might have been six years ago. There are many wonderful restaurants in the CBD. We were very much the anchor tenant of the East City when we started; now there are a lot of exciting eateries around here.
The security provided by the CCID is great, as is the cleanliness factor. But I would like the roads to be fixed up a bit – for Canterbury Street not to be a rollercoaster when you’re driving with cakes! I’d also like a more visible law enforcement presence to police traffic.
What is your favourite spot in the CBD?
The Company’s Garden restaurant rocks my world. We often go there for lunch. I also really love the veggie garden in The Company’s Garden and what Khulisa Social Solutions is doing with the plot of land next to Fruit & Veg City in Roeland Street. [Ed – the StreetScapes garden ploughed and harvested by members of the street community.] I’m book crazy, so I love browsing the Book Lounge.
Photo: Jacqui is pictured above with her daughters Alex and Dani.