The first is always the best, seeing the absence of a shisanyama in his village as an untapped opportunity, Masilo Ramalapa did not think twice when he started his own eatery. Two years after opening in Polokwane, not only is it a growing success, but another branch is on the cards. Ramalapa told Vutivi News that it was an unfortunate situation that opened the door to entrepreneurial success for him.
“I started the business after I was retrenched from work. I used the money I received after I got retrenched to start the business,” he said. “I conveniently positioned the business in front of a liquor outlet because I saw the business opportunity in this move,” Ramalapa said that his shisanyama served food like chicken, steak, pork chops and ribs.
It also hosted “Sunday Sessions” where DJs were invited, and tents erected for patrons to enjoy the music and mingle. They also served pork trotters and cow’s head meat on Sundays. However, his business did not start off successfully. “The first month was very hard for us,” he admitted.
“We started towards the end of the year and the mistake we made was cooking a lot of food without knowing how many customers we would be expecting. “As a result, we would sell two chickens a day and would close the day with pots full of pap,” the owner said. However, his luck changed during December. “As the festive season kicked in, more and more people started recognising us and coming to our establishment, and our business started booming, almost immediately even,” he said.
“Our busiest time falls between the 25th of every month to the 10th of the following month. Business slows down to a normal pace on the 15th before picking up once more on the 25th.” Ramalapa said that what kept him going was doing something that he enjoyed.
“I love serving people and giving them food that makes them really happy,” he said. “Our customers particularly love our steak because it is very juicy and tender and the spices we use, make the steak very succulent.” During the lockdown, his business suffered like many others, but when it eased, he was able to adapt. “We started off by cooking less food and when we entered into level two, business started picking up once more,” he said.
“I survived because I love my work and I also had savings, which helped me maintain stock levels, especially during hard times,” Ramalapa told Vutivi News that locating his business in front of a liquor store was one of his smartest moves. “Our customers can go over to the liquor store and buy alcohol and come back to enjoy their food,” he said.
“When their customers buy alcohol and realise that they are hungry, they come over to our side and they buy food, which is a win-win situation for both businesses.” The success of his establishment has enabled Ramalapa to plough back money into his business, and he is planning on opening another branch.
“This is one of our greatest achievements… being able to buy property so that we are able to build a bigger and better shisanyama in Moletjie as well,” he said. “I was only able to do this because of the overwhelming support of the residents of Mabokelele, who I consider part of my family.”
