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| Friday, 6 August 2004 |
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Devon - serving Kandy in many ways by Prasad Abu Bakr
From a mere provision seller the name 'Devon' has established itself to a prestigious business chain in the hill capital, operating a food court, a line of pastry shops, two hotels and now a gymnasium. All falling in line with the catering and the hospitality industry. M.M.P.D. Weeraratne better known as Dharmadasa Weeraratne, who is the Chairman of the present Devon Group first went into business in the early '60s under the name board of 'Weeraratne Brothers' which was initially selling provisions, groceries and supplying the hotels in the area on a small scale. The vast experience he gained at a short time served as an incentive for him to move into the food and catering business at that time. The name Devon first incorporated itself with a restaurant in 1977. Since then the name has owned many businesses opened and recognised by it, ranging from pastry shops, hotels and lately a fitness centre as an affiliated company. The Devon Restaurant (Pvt) Ltd, was opened in 1977 in an old building owned by a British civil servant. Starting off with a small investment by Weeraratne it was operated mainly as a restaurant where visitors to the city refreshed themselves with food and drinks while shopping or during office breaks. It was while success was building up at this little restaurant in the city Weeraratne set his plans to open up an intimate hotel catering not only to accommodate visitors but also to serve as a Banquet Hall to the many weddings that were held within the city by Kandyans residing in the outskirts of their city. So it was in 1991 that 'Devon Rest' came to rest across the lake as a multi-functional resort to both locals and foreigners. With a busy restaurant in his hands Weeraratne found the importance of baking their own bread and pastries, so it was only natural that in 1994 he made arrangements to open up the first all purpose bakery in Kandy at Dalada Veediya. It was also the first bakery where customers could see fresh bread being unloaded from the oven and being wrapped up on order. With a small hotel and an extra active bakery and pastry outlet in action the necessity for another hotel was envisaged by Weeraratne's eldest son Gamini. His vision for a better and bigger Devon group became an ultimate dream and he began working towards that end at a very young age. Opening up of the Devon Hotel on the Ampitiya Road, a bigger service oriented property in comparison to the Devon Rest, the groups pioneer hotel on the Lake front, the Devon Hotel was a bigger operation and dispensed many services in way of accommodation and also catered to wedding receptions in the area by way of providing reception hall facilities and other services demanded by clients. This was a step forward towards young Gamini's ambitions. His arrival on the scene in 1988 added many features to the Devon Group. The Bakery and Pastry Shop on Dalada Veediya widened itself into a 'Food Court', a concept that was catching on as the year 2000 dawned and the young Weeraratne was quick to grasp on to such concepts that stood the company in good stead on the long run. The food court served an array of dishes not limiting itself to tradition. By the year January 2001 realising the fact that good eating needs an equally important regiment to keep oneself fit the 'Ultra Fitness Centre' was opened. Attracting to its membership over 200 regular members, it became the largest gymnasium in Kandy. Devon Group today is probably the largest singular business chain in the hill capital having, under its wing, numerous pastry shop outlets including one each in Kurunegala and Panadura, a large food centre in the heart of Kandy, two hotels catering to both local and foreign tourists and a gymnasium with the largest membership in Kandy. The group is the proud recipients of many awards at varied levels. In Kandy they have received awards presented by the Sinhala Welanda Peramuna, Hill Country's Cultural and Art Association in different years between 2001 and 2003 and they were also felicitated during the same years by the Federation of Chamber of Commerce. Today they have over 150 employees working at different levels most of them with a fine training background with the Ceylon Hotel School, besides this the group undertakes to train staff to suite the needs of their organisation within the hospitality trade. According to Chamath Weeraratne, the youngest Director of the group who overlooks the hotels, his elder brother Gamini Weeraratne who is presently the Managing Director of Devon Group is leading them towards striving in achieving perfection in every endeavour that the group undertakes. |
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