A NATURAL FOODS PIONEER REACHES THE SUBLIME STAGE

In Business, March/April, 2004, Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 14

Terry Dalton makes an exciting entrepreneurial transition from the Unicorn to plant-based cuisine.

Jerome Goldstein

SOUTH FLORIDA is blessed with lots of sunshine, palm trees, ocean breezes and graceful beaches. It also has a unique individual named Terry Dalton - a man who knows what it takes to succeed in the natural foods industry. In Business readers first learned of Dalton's entrepreneurial creativity in 1983 in an article titled “The Inner Workings of A Natural Foods Empire.”
At that time, his Unicorn Village Natural Lifestyle Center - 15 miles north of Miami, 20 miles south of Fort Lauderdale - included 6,000 square feet of restaurant, bakery, food store and clothing shop. As manager of 65 employees, he described his style this way: “I like to give people a gentle shove, then let them move on their own momentum. I give them the tools they need, like equipment or more staff, and let them develop, be creative. It's a matter of giving the people the freedom to learn what they do best.” As described in our report 21 years ago, he watches discerningly from the sidelines, offers critiques and guards against negligence.
Between his start-up in 1979 and the following four years, observed author Richard Leviton, “The Unicorn has put natural food cuisine on the culinary map, made the food service branch of health foods financially successful, and established industry standards for excellence in food, efficiency in production, competence in service, and sophistication in decor.”
In 1990, we revisited Dalton as his Unicorn became the anchor attraction for an elegant development known as the Waterways. By that time, there were over 150 natural food supermarkets in the U.S. - with the three largest chains (Mrs. Gooch's, Whole Food Market and Bread & Circus) - grossing over $210 million in annual sales. “All three of these companies started as small single unit health food stores about ten years ago,” noted Dalton. “Extremely high sales per foot and gross margins have not gone unnoticed in the corporate world.”
His Unicorn maintained a strong pace as well, with an annual average sales growth of 28 percent. The grocery department stocked over 11,000 items with an average daily customer count of 1,300. Total sales for fiscal 1989 were $8 million, while employees topped 300. In Dalton's analysis, the Unicorn restaurant functioned as a marketing vehicle for the store, while the grocery store marketed the restaurant. The same concept that worked so well in a neighborhood environment was being shifted to a very upscale “world of shops, spas, yacht harbor and intracoastal living. ... The developer needed to get traffic into the shopping center and sees our kind of company as the anchor. ... And we're positive that our customers will still run the spectrum - from the wife of the Miami Vice star to the person on food stamps.”
SELLING OUT, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL VENTURES
When Dalton was asked in 1990 about future competition from major corporate players, he responded that he was not worried about big business taking over the natural foods field. “I believe the world should be going in the direction of natural foods, and that includes big business as well.” Besides, predicted Dalton with oh, such accurate prescience, “by the time they really get into this field, I'll be ready to retire.”
Five years later - in 1995, he sold the Unicorn to Whole Foods for $5 million ... and retired! But not indefinitely! By 2004 - when my wife and I reunited with Terry Dalton, it was at the Sublime World Vegetarian Cuisine restaurant and Lifestyle Emporium in Fort Lauderdale which was cofounded in 2003 by Dalton and Nanci Alexander. During the past 15 years, Alexander has become internationally known for her leadership in the animal rights world. The Sublime handsomely-constructed and landscaped site also is headquarters for the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF). One hundred percent of Sublime's profits will be donated to organizations that promote animal well-being and a vegan lifestyle.
The Sublime Lifestyle Emporium - located right next to the restaurant - is where you can get all kinds of take-home prepared vegetarian foods as well as animal-free soaps, cosmetics, clothing items and special gift items. Waterwalls, skylights, glass tiles and Peter Max paintings are interior highlights of the building, constructed of environmentally-friendly materials. Dalton is very proud of the comprehensive recycling program which soon may also feature an on-site food waste composting system. Terry Dalton is clearly back in business on his own terms, as well as back in the pages of our magazine. Before describing the food and philosophy of Sublime, let's go back to 1990 and a description he gave to us about his “social venture outlook”: His description provides a clear, understandable explanation of his transition from the Unicorn to the Sublime:
Social factors have always been part of my business drive. As profits have grown, the company has regularly contributed to the environment and peace movements. We feel we have a responsibility to be involved and supportive; it's an integral part of the health and fitness industry, I believe. Besides, our customers expect it of us.
Viewing ourselves as part of the social venture community also separates us from the rest of the marketplace. I've said repeatedly that health and fitness are among the greatest market forces of this century. We have both an opportunity and the ability to make a difference ... to do our part to make a sustainable world.
If we had not experienced the growth we have had - if we were still a small natural food store or restaurant, we could never be making the contribution we are. This industry has given us an opportunity to use some economic power to make a difference.
A WORLD CLASS AURA ... AND MISSION
Dalton and Alexander brought lots of capital to fulfill their concept for Sublime. They bought the property along Federal Highway - the first time for Dalton that he switched from a start-up as a tenant. In addition to her focus on animal rights, Alexander brings the skills of her experience as a previous owner of the Houston Rockets basketball team and law degree. The focus now is on plant-based cuisine, and after only eight months since the grand opening, the region's dining experts are vastly impressed. “I have been a vegetarian for 33 years and it is often a challenge eating out,” writes one food reviewer. But at Sublime, the extensive menu has been designed to offer a multitude of choices to delight the most discriminating palates. ... It is clear that Sublime embodies the ethical excellence of these two extraordinary human beings.” Appetizers include Seitan Satay, Eggplant Quinoa Dumplings, Fire Roasted Whole Artichoke, sushi and avocado rolls. Entrees include Sublime Piccata, Mushroom Stroganoff, Stuffed Manicotti and Vegetable Lasagna. The bar offers organic wines, sakes and beers as well as a full range of special drinks including Sublime's Organic Screw and Chargarita. Desserts seem endlessly tempting - from Chocolate-Ginger Ice cream to sorbets, cappuccino cheesecakes and coconut cake. (Visit www.sublimeveg.com)
For Dalton, the new scene seems to be clearly energizing - the shift from his 17 years that spanned 1979 to 1995 at Unicorn - to the diversity that combines animal rights and vegetarian cuisine. As Florida's strongest voice for animals, the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida - founded in 1989 by Nanci Alexander - has since grown to over 4,000 members. ARFF is founded on the principle that animals have the right to live their lives free of exploitation, abuse and harm inflicted upon them by society.
We look forward to more reunions and reports about Sublime in coming issues as they move ahead to fulfill goals on a number of leading edge issues.

PIAZZA, FLEXIBILITY AND PORTOBELLO - CANDIDATE FOR SUBLIME?
THE HEADLINE in The Times' sports pages last month read: “New Focus For Piazza: Flexibility and Nutrition.” The story revealed that while steroids dominated the stories of many superstar baseball players, Mike Piazza of the New York Mets loves his new energy drink of raw apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and flaxseed oil.
Like many power hitters, Piazza spent much of his career adding muscle mass and eating red meat. Last season, he missed almost three months with a torn right groin muscle. This winter, at 35, he decided that preserving his body was more important than building it. “Over the years, I've lost my elasticity, and this is my way of limbering up. The goal is to refocus and realize these next years are critical to elongating my career. When you're 25, you can eat hamburgers and drink whatever you want. Not anymore.”
A recent dinner of uncooked foods featured a spinach salad with raw portobello mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts, a clove of raw garlic, sunflower seeds and olive oil. Sums up Piazza: “I'm not a hard-core vegetarian, but I realize there is a philosophy to raw foods instead of cooked foods that could make a difference in the long run.”
When the Mets play the Florida Marlins in Miami, Piazza should definitely plan a trip to the Sublime.

Copyright 2007, The JG Press