From behind the till to behind the grill, Asanda Maqabuka, the owner of Chicken Bar SA, shares her entrepreneurial journey to success.
Born in the small town of Mthatha, Eastern Cape, to a family of six, Asanda Maqabuka’s passion for entrepreneurship sparked when she watched her late aunt Nozipho Maqabuka run her businesses. ‘My aunt owned three local supermarkets in the ’90s in Ngqeleni [a small town that is a 40-minute drive from Mthatha].’ There, Asanda would help run the till at her aunt’s grocery store and accompany her on stock runs.
Years later, Asanda started her career in marketing. However, in 2014 she traded formal attire in the corporate world for protective gear when she started her own security company, Blue Chip Security Services. Three years into running the security business, Asanda began to consider taking a new path on her entrepreneurial journey when she saw a gap in the market in the fast-food industry, specifically in terms of selling grilled chicken.
She made big-boss moves when she bought her first franchise, Nkukhu Box. Using the knowledge she gained from the above business, Asanda de-franchised and started her own chicken restaurant, Chicken Bar SA. Asanda’s opened her first and flagship store in 2019 in her home town of Mthatha. According to her, Chicken Bar SA was born out of the desire to create and build a long-term profitable and sustainable business.
The website also explains that the restaurant ‘has become the new home of African grilled chicken dishes that embraces what it truly means to be from an African township.’ Those African dishes range from burgers to kotas and gatsby’s, even including Mexican quesadillas. When asked about her job title and description, it was clear that Asanda is no one-trick pony and is very much a hands-on type of business owner.
The multitalented restaurateur explained, ‘Some days I am the griller, some days I am the delivery person, and on other days, I am in the boardroom.’ Barely a year old, Asanda’s business was thriving, even during the peak of COVID-19. ‘COVID, especially level 4, was the best thing that happened to us as a business. When restaurants were not allowed to open, we did not have the red tape like the big franchises. So, we were the only restaurant in Mthatha that was open,’ explains Asanda.
She also mentions that she was fortunate to hire more staff and employ more drivers for the daily deliveries. ‘That also exposed us to people who did not know us, so it did wonders for our marketing.’ Two years after the birth of the business, Asanda proved that hard work pays off when the successful Chicken Bar SA became an accredited member of the Franchise Association of South Africa (FASA) and the Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA). Asanda shows that passion and drive are key factors to success.
When the opportunity is hot, you should grab it with both hands, even if you burn your fingers along the way. She also kept it real when asked to give advice to others who wish to dip their toes in the entrepreneurial waters in an economy that might not be the best inwhich to start a business. She stated, ‘Don’t do it! Get a job and call it a day, mate – nothing glamorous about entrepreneurship… Jokes aside, look, entrepreneurship is not for everybody, and I hate how the government is not helping small businesses. Starting a business is a lonely road. So, if you are prepared to downgrade, go for it.’
