Exit for Eloise Gonsalves from Argyle Airport Restaurant
Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has publicly defended his wife, Eloise, and her operation of the “Highflyers” restaurant at the Argyle International Airport (AIA), revealing that she has suffered substantial financial losses and will not bid to renew her operating contract. Addressing rumors and public criticism, Gonsalves stated that his wife originally stepped in out of patriotism when no one else would take the risk and is now being unfairly targeted for political reasons.
According to Gonsalves, Eloise reluctantly agreed to open Highflyers around November 2016, prior to the airport’s official opening. At the time, the International Airport Development Company (IADC) and the AIA had desperately struggled to find an operator for the terminal’s food spaces. Authorities underwent five rounds of selective tendering with no success, as potential operators repeatedly declined due to insufficient passenger traffic and the steep capital expenditure required to build out the empty terminal spaces. Even Goddard’s, a major catering group that handles operations in Barbados, formally declined the restaurant opportunity, advising the airport to come back in three or four years.
The situation reached a breaking point when regional airline LIAT indicated they would not land at the new airport on opening day if there were no restaurant facilities available for passengers. Facing this ultimatum, Eloise—who already managed another restaurant called Cafe Soleil—agreed to take on the project out of a sense of duty to St. Vincent and to the airport her husband spent years building.
Because the terminal slots were entirely empty, Eloise had to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars of her own money to install counters, fixtures, and commercial kitchen equipment. She ultimately operated one main kitchen upstairs and reluctantly agreed to run a downstairs bar area, transferring food via a goods elevator.
Over the years, Highflyers struggled financially. The business was battered by low initial air traffic, the COVID-19 pandemic, the La Soufriere volcano eruption, and Hurricane Beryl. Gonsalves noted that during the pandemic, Eloise never laid off a single worker. Instead, Highflyers had to be heavily subsidized by her other restaurant business.
To this day, Eloise has not recouped her capital investment and is currently barely breaking even on daily operations. Despite these losses, she has continued to provide lunches to airport staff at cost. Furthermore, acting in her capacity as a professional interior designer, Eloise decorated both of the airport’s VIP lounges completely free of charge, refusing payment from the board.
Recently, the new AIA board informed Eloise in writing that the restaurant spaces would be put out to public tender to seek new operators. While she was invited to apply, Eloise has officially decided not to submit a bid and wishes to exit the airport’s operations.
Gonsalves emphasized that she has instructed her management team to cooperate “100%” with the transition process and is actively allowing prospective bidders to view the facilities. However, he issued a stark reminder to the public and the airport authorities: all the equipment, counters, and fixtures currently in the restaurant spaces belong exclusively to Eloise, not the AIA.
Any incoming operator or the AIA itself will either need to purchase or rent these assets from her based on an objective assessment, or she will be forced to remove them. Gonsalves warned that if her property is completely moved out at once, it would disrupt the transition and leave the airport without dining facilities—a scenario that at least one operating airline has already flagged as a major concern.
Gonsalves strongly denied rumors that Highflyers owes rent to the airport, attributing the recent public scrutiny of his wife’s business to petty, partisan politics.
“She’s being pilloried. Why? Because her husband named Ralph and those who are talking don’t know the facts,” he stated.
Despite the significant financial strain and ongoing public criticism, Gonsalves noted that his wife holds “absolutely no bitterness” regarding the situation. If asked today, she says she would do it all over again, as she considered it her duty to ensure the country’s international airport could successfully open its doors.