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After trying a surfboard for the first time aged 12, Joe Davis knew exactly what he wanted to do. Mix that with an instilled hard working nature and a family centred lifestyle, he has evolved into the co-owner of multiple businesses.
The Sands and Little Joe's owner spoke to Express about the highs and lows of business ownership and the driving forces behind where he is today...
He is a father of two young girls and the co-owner of five businesses and yet, when asked how he manages to juggle so many different elements, Joe appears somewhat perplexed by the question.
“I don’t think of it as juggling,” he reflects.
Pictured: Joe set up his first business in 2009.
“All the things we do complement one another and because of that, there are no conflicts. I tend to see it as one big business and because we have a great team behind us and a brilliant support network, it doesn’t feel like juggling, although we certainly work hard and want to ensure that we do everything to the best of our ability.”
Indeed, the concept of hard work, mixed with fun, is nothing new to Joe, who “grew up” helping out at his parents’ greengrocer stall in the market.
“My mum and dad have had Just William for as long as I can remember,” said Joe. “I was on the counter almost from the day I was born and always worked there during school holidays.”
The family regularly undertook the “long commute” from their home in St Martin to St Ouen’s Bay, and it wasn’t long before Joe and his sister, Grace, discovered a new passion.
“We had always loved the beach but when I was 12 years old, I went on a surfboard for the first time and fell in love with the sport,” he explained. “It became a massive part of our lives, and it still is.”
Pictured: After trying surfing for the first time aged 12, Joe discovered his passion.
After completing a degree in chemistry from Cardiff University, Joe returned to the island and, after taking on a number of jobs, in 2009, he bought the little shop next to what was then Big Vern’s.
“I had always taught surfing during the summer holidays and after graduating, so when former owner John Halliwell put the shop on the market, it was an opportunity that was too good to refuse. By working for my dad, as a surf instructor and in a bar, I cobbled together the funds I needed to buy the shop, which I renamed Little Joe’s and the following year, I launched the surf school.”
Admitting that it was a big step to go from a series of seasonal jobs to having his own business, Joe added: “It was a leap and there were times when it felt scary, but I instinctively knew that as long as I worked hard and did my best – an ethos which I inherited from my parents – that it would work out.
"And I loved teaching. I still do. Every year, I look forward to the summer and running the surf school.”
Pictured: Little Joe's is one of five businesses Joe now co-owns.
To do that, though, Joe and wife, Natalie, who added Sands and Discovery Bay Apartments to their business portfolio in 2019, rely on their “amazing team” in the café.
“They enable me to step away from Sands and focus on the surf school, where the ethos is all about bringing children to the beach, teaching them about beach safety – something which is so important in an island like ours – and to respect one another,” he said.
“Surfing is more than a sport –it’s a lifestyle, and when you are part of that community, you look out for one another. Therefore, we focus on the community and fun side of surfing, rather than training people to reach a competitive standard.
“For me, it is all about encouraging children to get into the water and experience something different while also gaining that sense of accomplishment. Kids love it when they catch a wave or manage to get through the waves, and I think, now more than ever, it is so important to give kids that confidence that they can achieve anything.”
It is an experience which Joe and Natalie are also sharing with their daughters who, at seven and nearly nine, are beginning to venture into the water.
“It was just after our first daughter was born in 2015 that Natalie and I saw the potential that acquiring what was then Big Vern’s would offer us to expand our existing business,” he said. “Therefore, when the opportunity arose, in 2019, to take on the building, we didn’t think twice.”
But what Joe and Natalie couldn’t have predicted was that after just one year at the helm, the business would be rocked by covid.
“As hard as it was, we decided to stay open and offer takeaways, so that we could keep all the team in jobs and get through it,” he said.
“In a way, I think it strengthened Sands’ identity because we put our heads down and kept going. And while we, in common with businesses in industries across the island, are still feeling the ramifications of the C-word, it hasn’t changed our positive outlook and determination to offer a neighbourhood spot for our customers to enjoy.”
And that positive outlook is central to the couple’s approach.
Pictured: Joe and Natalie kept a "positive outlook" to get them through the pandemic.
“My take on hospitality is that it has to be positive,” he said. “You have to be outgoing and fun because that is what will encourage people to come to you. If we take the stance that prices are going up, and it’s all doom and gloom, that feeling will be passed on to customers and no one will have fun.
“Hospitality is about people going out to enjoy themselves and our goal is to provide not just good food and good service but to do it in an affordable way, so that people relax, enjoy their experience and want to do it again.”
With that in mind, Joe describes the food as “honest” and “simple”.
“I know our offer won’t be for everyone, but we focus on being a beach café serving “sandswiches”, burgers, tacos and other simple food that you want to have by the beach,” he said.
“For us, it’s simple. We need to make sure that we hit every level. The food has to be great, the staff have to be amazing and the drinks have to be super. But that shouldn’t come at a price which means people can only do it once in a blue moon.
“We want to be that easy choice and a place where people receive the same level of service whether they come in for a cup of tea or a meal. That’s really important. We might do things slightly differently but everything we do is done with the customer in mind. And the great thing is that people are coming back. I always say that our best review is a repeat customer.”
Further enhancing Sands’ unique identity is its range of sodas and cocktails.
“We have always focused on making as much as possible in-house. We even make our own ice creams,” said Joe. “It was therefore a natural extension to develop our own range of sodas, which we now produce under the label Sands Supply Co.”
Pictured: Sands incorporates Joe's drinks companies and sells their products.
Having initially started as something of a hobby – “we’d put on different seasonal sodas over the years” – over the past couple of years, Joe saw an opportunity to upscale the operation.
“We started to develop a full range, with the aim being to sell more of our in-house soda than soft drinks from internationally recognised brands and we are now doing that,” he said. “It’s been really cool. People are coming down, sitting in the sunshine and enjoying one of our sodas.”
Joking that this latest business line has “finally enabled him to use some of the learnings from his degree”, Joe says that the main inspiration for the drinks is a love of flavour and aromas.
“The whole idea is to use aroma to drive the flavour,” he said. “While achieving that has involved a lot of trial and error, we now have eight different sodas, some of which have been developed specifically for other restaurants, so that they have something unique to offer their customers.”
Among the offer is a pineapple and eucalyptus soda and a strawberry and Ancho chile drink.
“In the former, the eucalyptus cuts through the sweetness of the pineapple and complements it beautifully,” said Joe. “I didn’t want to create a range of one-dimensional flavours. The whole idea was to bring in different aromas and to view it almost like a perfume, offering a range of characteristics.
For example, with the strawberry and Ancho chile, the chile gives an earthiness to the drink, which really helps to round out the strawberry and stop it from being too sweet. It’s all about using contrasting flavours in a complementary way.”
Having “commandeered” a section of the kitchen in which he concocts and bottles his sodas, it was not long before he ventured from the world of soft drinks into that of cocktails.
“Together with a friend and business partner, we set up Hammer and Dash, a range of ready-to-drink cocktails, which are also made at Sands,” said Joe.
“These drinks, which are available online or from Love Wine and Dunells, are our version of popular classics, so we have a tequila negroni, a raspberry daiquiri-style drink and a Manhattan-style drink. The latter – The Five Boroughs – was the one which started it all.”
Drawing on his experience working in bars including Rojos and The Blind Pig, Joe says that the cocktails cater for the growing ready-to-drink sector.
“We have put a lot of effort into creating recipes which deliver a slightly different take on drinks which people already know,” he said. “The ready-to-drink market is growing because people want that care-free ease, which also enables them to have a home bar which is accessible and which won’t break the bank.
These drinks are also ideal for packing up and taking with you if you’re planning a picnic or barbecue on the beach, and make a great alternative to beer or wine.”
While looking forward to a busy summer, Joe admits that life doesn’t get that much quieter in the winter months.
Pictured: Joe believes there is "so much" to do in Jersey all year round.
“While the surf school only operates during the summer, Sands and the apartments are open throughout the year,” he said. “That was important for us because, even in winter, it is amazing down here. Even the storms are breathtaking. There is so much to do in Jersey that we believe people can come at any time and have a wonderful experience.
“And that comes back to our positive outlook on hospitality and wanting people to be able to go out and have that little bit of escapism in their lives. Natalie and I are so lucky to have forged careers doing something we really love. Yes, there are days when it’s hard, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything because we have a lot of fun and the highs far outnumber the lows.”
Joe was the cover star of this month's Connect Magazine – pick up a FREE copy around the island or read the magazine in full below...
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