Fiery recipe for ‘very beeg’ success
Seven years down the line, Chingada’s Mexican Cantina continues to help release Bay people’s inner ‘MexiCan’
AFTER spending 10 years paying his dues in the hospitality sector, Josh Steenekamp finally gave in to the entrepreneurship bug. Armed with a passion for people and a love of good food, he opened Chingada’s Mexican Cantina in the heart of Walmer – where it is still going strong after seven years.
Why did you venture into this industry?
When I felt ready to embark on my entrepreneurial journey, I needed to ask myself some honest questions about where my strengths and weaknesses lay. Due to my younger years of growing up working in the hospitality industry, opening a restaurant was the most logical first venture, as I understood what it would take to make it work and the sacrifice involved in being a restaurateur.
What have been the greatest challenges in this industry?
Eating out is a luxury, and if the economy impacts your back pocket, it’s the luxuries that you cut first, which is why it’s so important to never lose sight of what’s important in terms of the quality of the experience that a customer has when they walk through your door.
The drought, however, is the biggest challenge hitting our industry at the moment, which has impacted just about every farmer out there, which in turn increases supplier price.
What makes your business unique?
Chingada’s is a destination. We have created a space where you can not only dine at leisure, but also make a night of it with a few primo tequilas in the cantina and release your inner “MexiCan”.
We were around a long time before Mexican-themed restaurants started to trend on the South African scene, and the recipe that worked for us then, still works for us today. We don’t compromise on who we are and what we do, and attempt to give the customer a sensory experience that is unmatched – all the way from using traditional cooking methods in a wood-fired oven to the sounds of mariachi music on the airwaves.
If someone wanted to copy your business model, how would they start?
Unless you have a brand new liver and love a good moustache, you are going to battle. Anyone can open up a restaurant and sell Mexican food, but to truly make it something special, you have to live it, breathe it and it has to come from the heart.
I have become deeply connected to the traditions of Mexico and their way of life and that’s not something you can fabricate . . . a trip to Mexico and being shown a few trade secrets by some of the locals certainly doesn’t hurt either.
What are some of the biggest inhibitors your business faced before even getting off the ground?
Location, location, location! We also needed to create a market for the concept, as there was no Mexican restaurant in Port Elizabeth at the time and hadn’t been for many years, so we needed to educate and excite people new to Mexican food about the flavours and vibrancy of the cuisine.
How do you measure or define success in your business?
Smiling faces and bums on seats.
How important is social media and an online presence for your business?
It’s very important to stay connected and these days we walk around with the equivalent of a laptop attached to our faces, so you can convey a message to your fans instantaneously. The only downside of this is that it is creating disparity between a business and the customer. Before the days of Facebook becoming so intertwined with our daily routine, a business owner would have the pleasure of passing on kind words from customers to the team after a good experience, and conversely have the opportunity to address a negative experience. But unfortunately, it has also become a platform for the odd couch critic to feel empowered to write a scathing review, not thinking about the impact it could have on small local businesses and the livelihoods of their employees and families. I can assure you, there isn’t a business owner out there who wouldn’t want to hear constructive feedback from their customers – personally.
How many people do you employ?
We proudly employ 25 people.
Do you have any plans for expanding the business, and how would you go about this?
Yes, we did a test concept last year in Walmer Park Shopping Centre, which was one of the first Burrito Bars of its kind in SA. It was an invaluable learning experience and when the time is right, you will certainly see them popping up in a neighbourhood near you.
How did you acquire funding?
As much as banks will always play the “we support small business” card, that is not entirely accurate when it comes to many industries they see as high risk, hospitality being one of them. After countless meetings and business plan submissions with every major banking institution, it was clear they did not share the vision.
Believing wholeheartedly in the concept and the journey I was aspiring to commence, I figured there was no better supporter for the present than my own future. So I cashed in my pension fund, grabbed the bull by the proverbial horns, put “sleep” on my wish list and seven years later here we are.
What is the best compliment you’ve received about your business?
A top moment for me was when we had some Mexicans who were down on business and came in for lunch one afternoon.
On their way out, one of the senoritas told me her dish had just made her miss home. That’s about as good as it gets when you are serving cuisine from another country!