By: Sizakele Nduli
When Thembinkosi Ngwenya initially started TV’s Lounge eatery in 2016, he sold a variety of dishes, including pap, rice, meat, and pizza. “I ran the business, (and) it was doing well up until my landlord raised the rent, then I decided to go back to work,” the 33-year-old told Vutivi News. In 2020, a month after he was retrenched as a manager at Thornhill Lodge in Mpumalanga due to the Covid-19 outbreak, Ngwenya discovered a culinary market gap for pizzas in Nkomazi.
This then prompted the professional chef to remodel TV’s Lounge into Nkomazi Pizza, where pizza became his main focus, delivering it to people either on foot or by taxi. Ngwenya said that the response he got from the community when he started out was encouraging, however, three months later, he struggled to manage the influx of pizza orders. “It started as a KaMhlushwa thing, [then] people [started] talking about it all over Nkomazi. I then went to find a place behind Sasol garage. I built a shelter and pushed for another eight months,” Ngwenya said, adding that at the time he employed two people responsible for making pizzas and one for deliveries.
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With the help of Mpumalanga Scouts, Ngwenya said that he acquired his first bike, and soon decided to open his second shop at Schuemansdal Plaza. Unfortunately, seven months later, the rent for his second shop was hiked, which forced him to close his doors. “By that time, I had five employees, three [in] KaMhlushwa and two [in] Schuemansdal,” Ngwenya added.
According to Ngwenya, one of the challenges he faced in his pizza business, apart from the hike in rent and the structure of his shop, was when his bike was stolen in October 2023. “I did approach a lot of people about getting a bike until one businessman came up to give me his bike to do delivery, and I gave him all the delivery money, which gave my business a boost,” he said. “I just got one (bike) last month, so people are getting used [to the fact that] we deliver again. So, we are moving up slowly day by day.”
Currently, Nkomazi Pizza delivers to 13 locations and charges between R20 to R50 depending on proximity to the shop in KaMhlushwa. It offers a variety of options, including the heavyweight (Triple Decker) for R170, the Double Dekha for R140, the large pizza for R100, and Juno’s Pizza, resembling mini cupcakes available in a set of four for R35. His goal is to reopen his shop at Schuemansdal Plaza and also expand his business to Mbombela. “To run a business, you need to take some risks and be patient with the product,” Ngwenya concluded.
