After months of refurbishments, The Blackanese Sushi Bar re-opened its doors this week in time to meet the culinary demand of the summer high season. The restaurant has doubled in size and can host more patrons who throng to Joburg’s bustling Maboneng Precinct for unique dining experiences.
Vusi Kunene, the owner and head chef of The Blackanese, has used the two-month hiatus to expand the restaurant’s offering. “We have added Asian salads such as the salmon salad, we have a cocktail menu with an in-house mixologist and we’ve added more warm meals like our seared salmon on a bed of rice,” said Kunene.
The Blackanese menu remains a fusion of African flavour with Japanese cuisine with offerings such as the Biltong California rolls and the prawn braai with Thai rice. Regular features such as All-you-can-eat Sushi Tuesday and the popular Sea food braai, prepared and hosted by Kunene every Sunday afternoon, will continue.
The restaurant’s interior décor still has its iconic chopstick wall but now boasts two floor levels, separated by a bamboo barrier testament to its growth. The walls of The Blackanese document the story behind Kunene’s journey to success in the form of framed newspaper clippings from local and international media. Kunene, who became nationally known from the Hansa Pilsener Cheers to the Dreamers TV campaign, says patrons are always asking him to tell the story behind the restaurant and the pictures help him to narrate that story.
“As a brand that celebrates and inspires dreamers, people who hustle hard and work tirelessly to make their dreams come true, we are extremely proud of Vusi’s astounding growth. Not only will his restaurant expansion translate to a bigger contribution to our economy, Vusi’s success remains a tangible inspiration to other dreamers to continue to dream big,” said Hansa Pilsener marketing manager Refilwe Maluleke.
Budding entrepreneurs can certainly take a leaf out of Kunene’s book. From humble beginnings in Mpumalanga where he had to leave school and find employment when his mother died, Kunene has been employed as a security guard and has held various odd jobs before becoming a waiter in Cape Town where he encountered sushi for the first time and fell in love with it.
“I started a mobile sushi bar in 2005 with a dream of owning a restaurant one day. Each year, I would build on the previous year’s success making appearances at wine festivals, food shows and markets, including Maboneng’s Market on Main. Slowly, The Blackanese gathered momentum and more fans. Starring in the Hansa Pilsner TV campaign accelerated my growth by introducing my brand and business to millions of homes around the country. The advertising support from Hansa helped place The Blackanese on a nationwide map so much so that one of my chefs, inspired by the ad, hitch-hiked all the way from Welkom to come and work for me. The rest as they say is history.” said Kunene.
With bigger floor space, a wider menu and a dedicated patronage that is bound to get bigger, Vusi Kunene has only just begun writing his history.
