e n T r e P r e n e u r o F T H e Y e A r 2 0 1 8 / T O U R I S M + H O S P I T A L I T Y
34 BCBusiness OCtObER 2018
mandy Farmer grabbed
the reins as
CEO of her family's motel chain, Victoria-
based accent inns, in 2008, just as the global
economy was collapsing. the business was
taking on water, literally and figuratively.
leaky condo syndrome afflicted its five
buildings, and falling property prices sank the
company's valuation.
Farmer bailed out accent with two fresh
approaches. First, she revitalized her motels
to set them apart from their deep-pocketed
corporate competitors. being a smaller
company has its advantages: "We can do
whatever we want," Farmer explains. she
gave her team freedom to add fun, personal
touches: rubber ducks in the tubs and night-
stands stocked with office supplies.
next, Farmer pushed boundaries further
with two freshly remodelled properties under
accent's four-year-old hotel Zed brand.
guests can borrow bikes, roller skates and
games. in the closet, there's a mini-disco
with a fog machine. Farmer, who estimates
that the company's value has grown fourfold,
plans to add more properties to the seven it
operates now. –D.H.
R U N N E R U P
Mandy Farmer
p R E S I D E N T a N D
C E O , a C C E N T I N N S
R U N N E R U P
Ryan Moreno
C E O a N D p R I N C I p a L , J O S E p H R I C H a R D G R O u p
Working as a 15-year-old Red Robin
busboy was Ryan moreno's humble first step
to becoming a hospitality entrepreneur. his
surrey-headquartered company, Joseph
Richard group
(JRg), founded with best
friend andré bourque in 2009, operates
restaurants, pubs, liquor stores and a hotel in
21 locations in b.C. and alberta.
moreno began his first business after
he and bourque got jobs slinging drinks
at nightclubs. bartending schools weren't
adequately training people for real-life
work: while moreno tossed bottles like tom
Cruise in the 1988 movie Cocktail, his rookie
co-workers struggled with the basics. so the
two friends built their own course, and after
the first class they had $10,000 cash in their
hands. "holy cow, we created this out of
nothing," moreno recalls thinking.
the first restaurant he opened in 2002
failed. "i didn't do the homework," moreno
explains. he does it now, focusing on
providing exceptional guest experiences.
JRg, which has more locations in the works,
recently launched a hiring drive to grow from
about 950 employees to 1,000. –D.H.
25th
a n n i v e r s a r y
