Food prices are a punch in the gut
The owners of small community eateries are battling to keep costs down for their customers
With food prices spiralling, South Africans are tailoring their palates to their pockets and small eateries, desperate for business, are keeping a tight lid on prices.
According to the Markets and Economic Research Centre, the basic food basket has increased from R508.95 in March 2015 to R579.61 a year later. The Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action, which has tracked food prices since 2006, found that the cost of a larger food basket had risen from R1 797 in January this year, to R1 869 two months later. Owners of small businesses are among those who bear the brunt of these price hikes.
Amanat Ali owns a tikka grill and restaurant on Commercial Street in Fordsburg, Johannesburg. This is where you’ll find him on any given day between 5pm and 10pm, wearing an ivory-coloured salwar kameez and formal shoes. He takes his business seriously, allowing no one else to man the tikka grill. For many in Fordsburg, Ali’s is one of the cheapest — not to mention tastiest — places to grab a quick, hot meal.
Ali also owns the Khana Khajana curry, naan and roti restaurant next door. He and his partner attribute their success to their loyal customer base, which consists mainly of Pakistani, Indian and Muslim South Africans, as well as their masala marinade.
But rising inflation has forced Ali to raise his prices. “I buy stock in bulk, so it makes prices lower. But just two weeks ago I had to push my prices up by R5. We can’t go up too much or people won’t be able to afford it,” he says, adding that the shops’ monthly rent comes to R30000.
In contrast with the hustle and bustle of Fordsburg, Jeppestown is quiet.
Henry Igbinoba sits among the vegetables he sells in his eatery. Originally from Nigeria, he used to serve Nigerian food until he realised South African food would attract more customers.
He charges R30 to R35 for a generous helping of pap, meat and salad and won’t risk potentially losing cus- tomers by raising his prices.
“If I put my prices up, people are going to run out; they going to cry and complain,” he says.
A few blocks down from Igbinoba’s place, the smell of meat wafts up from Happyness Maphosa’s braai spot. She has opened three eateries in Jo’burg.
Maphosa used to work for Nando’s, which is where she learnt what it takes to make a business work. Her customers pay between R25 and R35 for a plate of food, and they keep coming back. She says the secret lies in how she flavours the food. But in spite of this, she is considering closing her Jeppestown branch to save money.
“Before, I was the only one doing braai, so it was better. But because of the competition, my business is low. That’s why I want to close it and focus on the other two,” she says.
Competition isn’t the only factor: customer convenience is equally important. Braamfontein is brimming with students who say they have neither the time nor the income to cook. Instead, many will order slap chips, drenched in vinegar, mustard and tomato sauce.
But with potato prices having risen dramatically in the past year, even this type of humble meal now costs more to make. The price of a 10kg pocket of potatoes went from R35 to R60.32 in March.
It’s had a knock-on effect. The owner of a small Braamfontein eatery says his current prices sometimes force him to dig into his own pocket to pay his rent. Despite the hardships, he keeps at it — as do other small eatery owners in the area — because he has no other alternatives.
Two men share a hake and chips from the fish shop near De Korte Street, splitting the R30 bill between them. “Check the bill at any of the other fast food places — a burger will cost R69. So, that’s R70 spent in a day on food. It’s just too much,” says Fiso Morgan (37).
The restaurant owner, Rizwan Ahmad, says although his profit margin has dropped from 50% to 30%, he is “not losing”.
“[In] every business, you can’t make anything without the customers. Even if you are making less money, my idea is that you get more customers and you can draw more business,” he says.