Stuti Basu Franchise owner for Esquires Coffee House / The Organic Coffee Company
Originally published in the newspaper Westmeath Topic on 28th April, 2023
Stuti Basu is the franchise owner for Esquires Coffee House, The Organic Coffee Company in Mullingar. She was born and brought up in India and moved to Ireland in 2012 with her husband, Manish, and son, Aditya. “Immigrating to Ireland was by far the best decision we took as a family,” Stuti said. “In the last 11 years, we have lived in some amazing places, met some of the nicest people and created some great memories. We moved to Mullingar from Galway in the summer of 2019 as we were in the process of buying the Esquires, Mullingar franchisee.
“From the very beginning, Mullingar has been so welcoming to us. My son, Aditya, who is sitting his Leaving Cert this year, has made life-long mates and integrated so well into the society. I would say the people of Mullingar are simply some of the best you will meet.
“Mullingar is where my heart is and this is what I call my hometown as I became an Irish citizen while living in Mullingar. “Compared to India, life in Ireland is different in many ways. We love the quality of life Ireland has to offer and, at the same time, we miss the social structure of a large family you have.
“As a director in Esquires Coffee House, Mullingar I work very closely with my team of 21 incredible staff members some of who have been part of my business for over six years. I love working with my team and would be found either looking after my customers or supporting my team by giving a helping hand, mostly Monday to Sunday – after all, there is no rest when you own a business.”
What were you like as a child?
I grew up in a small town by the name of Meerut in Northern India. My family was very traditional and as the youngest in the family I was always pampered by my brother Aradhya and sister Anjali. My father was a banker and due to the nature of his job we moved around a fair bit. It was a great experience as it taught me to adapt to different places and surroundings.
As a child, I had a love for music, films and arts. I qualified as a software engineer after completing my post-graduation and worked in banking and financial services for a short while before getting married, becoming a mother and then immigrating to Ireland.
What drives you?
Simply put, I am driven by a passion for customer experience. I believe Esquires Coffee Mullingar should not just be a preferred location for our customers because we are the largest restaurant in the heart of Mullingar or because we have an outstanding offering in both food and beverages, but because of the differentiated level of service my team and I offer.
I take great pride in personally ensuring every guest who visits us has the best possible experience and they keep coming back to us. Due to high turnover in staff it’s not always possible and it breaks my heart whenever a customer’s experience falls short of what I set out to deliver.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
When we were in the process of buying the business in 2020, I was slightly apprehensive as Covid-19 was just about gaining momentum. At this point I spoke to my brother Aradhya Bakhshi who lives in Switzerland with his family. My brother just said one thing to me from his own life experience, in his words: “Don’t be afraid of new beginnings, embrace new opportunities, you can grow only when you come out of your comfort zone.” I did exactly that and am so glad I spoke to Aradhya when I did.
Who are your role models and why?
In life, you meet hundreds of humans, you observe some qualities which you want to adopt and practise and then you see some traits you never want to see again.
“ I take great pride in personally ensuring every guest who visits us has the best possible experience and they keep coming back to us...”
Growing up in a modest family I learned the basic principles of life, to work hard with sincerity and honesty, from my father P.K. Bakhshi and that has stuck with me. My patience, generosity and being at peace with myself has come from my mother, Rajee, who taught me to always keep family first and be kind to everyone around you. All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my mother. She is undoubtedly my role model.
In Ireland, we were introduced to my business partner, George Stephens, in 2017 by Tony McVerry, CEO of Esquires Coffee House, Ireland for a possible business project. To George, we were complete strangers new to Ireland, and had no prior business experience. However, from the very beginning, he showed an immense amount of trust in us. Over the last six years we have not only become business partners but very close family friends.
George, his wife, Breda, my husband, Manish, and I have spent countless evenings over drinks, meals and a weekend away. George and Breda have been such an integral part George, his wife, Breda, my husband, Manish, and I have spent countless evenings over drinks, meals and a weekend away. George and Breda have been such an integral part of our lives that they literally are our Irish family.
George is one of the smartest and most intelligent people I have met so far in my life. His analytical skills and keen sense of business have made me his protégé and him my mentor. I have learned more from George about business than I could have learned in the best business schools.
With that said, the biggest inspiration in my life has been my husband and best friend Manish who has always believed in me and constantly challenged me to excel. There were times when I was down in the trenches and he was there, like a real trooper, getting me back on my feet; his tenacity and high resilience is what has gotten me so far in my life.
Choose Three words to describe yourself.
Compassionate, generous and contemplative.
Where did your love for business come from?
I was never interested in a nine to five job. I wanted something of my own and something which was an integral part of the community where people met, relaxed and had a great experience.
While looking to start a business, we had a few options to choose from, however, we decided to go with Esquires Coffee House because of the offering we have and also because of the sustainability mission Esquires believes in.
As a business woman, you never have a dull day – your days or weeks never go as planned, there is always something that makes you think and respond fast and then move on to the next challenge. This is what drives me and for sure I will never look at doing anything else.
Ireland and specially Mullingar have been very good to us, this is where I have truly realised my potential and laid foundations to achieve my best.
What is your biggest achievement to date?
My biggest achievement to date is having bought a business in the peak of Covid, surviving three nail-biting lockdowns and having successfully overcome uncertainties over the last three years.
We bought the business on 4 March, 2020, and went into a lockdown on 16 March, losing nearly all of my original team and starting from scratch every time the lockdown was lifted. With that said, the experiential learnings these three years have given me would not have been possible if I had run a business for 10 years in a stable environment.
Even now there are uncertainties as we all grapple with the cost of living crisis where the public and particularly hospitality businesses have been hit by nearly weekly price increases and staff shortage. With that said I enjoy these challenges.
What makes you happy?
Success comes from gaining and happiness comes from giving. I am a giver, I am happiest when I give – when I give to my team, my customers (some of who have become my close friends) a reason to smile. Not a day goes by when I do not go out to random customers or their kids and offer a free treat.
I believe in giving time too, time to my regular customers, that two-minute conversation and check-ins do mean a lot to some of my customers who live on their own and make it a point to come to the restaurant every day sun or rain!
What’s your pet peeve?
When I see lack of purpose, laziness, any form of waste and also when people gossip completely infuriates me.
What is your favourite trait in someone?
I believe compassion is the only trait that will keep humanity going. This is one thing I value the most when I hire.