Novate has several other interests in the town, amongst these, another commercial building which is to house the Kentucky Fried Chicken as well as the residential Croyden Place development which is soon to move into its second phase. Novate is also to build Kwantu, the Alice shopping centre.
Novate strategic development manager Grant Wheatley says he is delighted to offer one of the country’s leading restaurant brands the building’s premium position.
“Their location offers up to 160 guests in peak season unprecedented views from store’s magnificent veranda. Furthermore, it is also one of the few restaurants which customers can access by boat. Furthermore, the team, which is to manage the store, has a proven track record in this industry, which is a good indicator of success. This, in turn, means our centre should be equally successful,” says Wheatley.
The partnership comprises operations partner Ken Todd who is the chain’s former franchise consultant to the region and a former restaurateur. Remaining partners are East London franchisee and current reigning franchisee of the year Demetri Anagnostakis and Richard Key who is the chain’s operations and business manager for this region and co-owner of an Ocean Basket in Cape Town.
The partnership’s 33-person team has strong roots in the Eastern Cape with the manager being from East London and the kitchen team leader, who is from a Cape Town store, originally from Kenton. The remaining staff are from the surrounding area.
Ocean Basket marketing head for the region Nicholas Meder says the store opens at a time when there has been good growth for the brand in the region.
“We have been watching the Eastern Cape for five years and have noted the development of the region and the immense potential of Port Alfred which should see further growth over the next five years. Then Novate Property Investments presented this Port Frances opportunity to us,” adds Meder.
“Future plans include a satellite store, a cruise boat offering, and when the town’s growth is at the right level, the introduction of our second brand, Braza, which is a Portuguese inspired African flavoured cuisine range,” says Meder.
Other developments planned for the region include a store in Mthatha for October. Next year the restaurant group aims to open Ocean Basket and Braza restaurants in Port Elizabeth, East London and Jeffreys Bay.
“In the following year, we would like to look at opportunities in Queenstown, Plettenberg Bay and Oudtshoorn. This should pave the way for distribution centre in the province, making it our fourth centre in the country,” ends Meder.
Publisher: Novate Property Investments
Source: Novate Property Investments
