Grill Addicts out to fill Nando’s shoes

TJIPENANDJAMBI KUHANGA and YOKANY OLIVEIRAAFTER a few months on the market, Grill Addicts which replaced Nando’s, is going all out to attract customers.

The new food outlet was opened after Nandos relinquished the franchise that was held by the Grill Addicts owner, Rupert Harmse.

In an interview with last week, Harmse said some customers were still seeking the Nando’s brand unaware that a new player had taken its place.

“We are so attached to South African products. Thus people will not feel encouraged to start their businesses if there’s little support from the local market,” Harmse added.

He said Grill Addicts reduced the prices of more than 15 items on the menu, with some of their chicken offered in bigger portions than that of Nando’s to give customers value for their money and also attract new customers.

Harmse further said they have also moved away from only selling chicken. They are now selling 100% beef products such as beef burgers and prego beef rolls, boerewors and local kapana.

Local businesses, Harmse said, need support from consumers as a way to push the Namibian agenda by consuming local produce which in turn grows the local economy.

The meat products come directly from local farms while Namib Poultry supplies the chicken, Haramse said.

“What makes Grill Addicts different from Nando’s is the fact that everything we utilise is purchased in Namibia, thus, instead of the money flowing out of the country, it circulates here. This is because we purchase locally and all the money is spent in Namibia,” Haramnse said.

He said the aim is to get the growth back to where it was and expand the brand by opening up one or two branches in the north and at the coast. However, for this to be achieved, it is necessary to expand the brand in Windhoek before taking it to other parts of the country.

“If we want to better and recover our economy as citizens, we then need to support local businesses,” he said.

Despite this, Grill Addicts retained all the 140 staff who worked for Nando’s.

Grill Addicts finance and operations manager Lelanie van den Heever said the transition from Nando’s to Grill Addicts was not easy, but it came with many benefits, including the fact that they are building a proudly Namibian brand.

“The change was not easy and came with emotions, but we’ve learned how to build our Namibian brand with fellow supporting Namibians,” said Van den Heever.

Darren Hampton of Nando’s South Africa told New Era last month that they were considering to re-enter the Namibian market.

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