News Café scoops global award
By Faith Haushona- Kavamba
NEWS Café W i n d h o e k r e c e i v e d affirmation that they are on the right path when they won the award for the International Franchisee of 2015 in South Africa last week.
The relatively new branch of the franchise beat heavyweights from Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya and Zimbabwe, to win the award. Sherley and Eldon Kaiyamo, just two of the minds behind the Windhoek branch attended the award ceremony to receive palms on their team’s behalf.
News Café was founded some 20 years ago by Lambros Argirys in Hartfield, Pretoria.
“To win the award, we had to ensure we implemented the Guide to Service Excellence (GSE), on a daily basis which is News Cafe’s bible in terms of operations… We thank Namibia for having embraced us. We could not have won the award without the valued and continued support of our clients,” [Sherley] Kaiyamo said of their win.
News Café Windhoek opened its doors in March last year; much to the delight of many patrons who have enjoyed the franchises impeccable services at its sister branches.
Kaiyamo explained that they chose to invest in the franchise because it is a highly reputable world-class restaurant franchise, which offers franchisee benefits such as existing brand recognition and parent company set-up as well as marketing support.
“…With the rapid growth and urbanization of our beloved capital, we wanted to bring something different that caters for all age groups, backgrounds and pockets. We therefore decided to associate ourselves with the best in the business, hence we chose the News Café franchise,” she explained.
Since it opened its doors a year ago, the restaurant has grown from strength to strength, drawing in crowds with their delicious food and whimsical cocktails.
“We aspire to be the best in the business, not the biggest. Our vision is to be the best in the food and beverage industry. It is important to us to have guests that are thrilled with the experience when they leave from the moment they sit down to when they pay the bill,” Kaiyamo said.
She added that they continue to improve their service offering on a daily basis and strongly believe News Cafe Windhoek has captured its target market and made headway in meeting the expectations of their clients.
She also credited their success to having the right team, dedication, professionalism and hard work. “We have spent much time and allocated significant resources to train and get all front-and-back house staff up to speed on customer service best practices. Also consider offering professional development opportunities as a way to recruit employees eager to build a career in the restaurant industry.”
Although the palms are validation that they are on the right track, Kaiyamo was forthright that the journey has not been without its challenges.
Fees (which include having to contend with royalties and escalating rental costs) and labour challenges (having to employ a significant number of relatively unskilled employees to conduct their business), remain some of the challenges they have to deal with.
These challenges however have not taken anything away from the success of News Café Windhoek. In a short space of time it has become one of the trendiest hang-out spots in the city, so much so that securing a table for the late birds on any given evening is a challenge, but even that does not deter patrons who patiently wait.
By combining the service and product attributes of a coffee bar, cocktail bar, restaurant and entertainment venue under one roof, News Café has become a trendsetter in Windhoek.
“At the moment, there are no plans to open more branches in Namibia. We are currently focused on perfecting our business model in Windhoek to ensure that we continuously improve our customer service at all times and retain our status as the most trending spot in town,” she concluded.
The relatively new branch of the franchise beat heavyweights from Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya and Zimbabwe, to win the award. Sherley and Eldon Kaiyamo, just two of the minds behind the Windhoek branch attended the award ceremony to receive palms on their team’s behalf.
News Café was founded some 20 years ago by Lambros Argirys in Hartfield, Pretoria.
“To win the award, we had to ensure we implemented the Guide to Service Excellence (GSE), on a daily basis which is News Cafe’s bible in terms of operations… We thank Namibia for having embraced us. We could not have won the award without the valued and continued support of our clients,” [Sherley] Kaiyamo said of their win.
News Café Windhoek opened its doors in March last year; much to the delight of many patrons who have enjoyed the franchises impeccable services at its sister branches.
Kaiyamo explained that they chose to invest in the franchise because it is a highly reputable world-class restaurant franchise, which offers franchisee benefits such as existing brand recognition and parent company set-up as well as marketing support.
“…With the rapid growth and urbanization of our beloved capital, we wanted to bring something different that caters for all age groups, backgrounds and pockets. We therefore decided to associate ourselves with the best in the business, hence we chose the News Café franchise,” she explained.
Since it opened its doors a year ago, the restaurant has grown from strength to strength, drawing in crowds with their delicious food and whimsical cocktails.
“We aspire to be the best in the business, not the biggest. Our vision is to be the best in the food and beverage industry. It is important to us to have guests that are thrilled with the experience when they leave from the moment they sit down to when they pay the bill,” Kaiyamo said.
She added that they continue to improve their service offering on a daily basis and strongly believe News Cafe Windhoek has captured its target market and made headway in meeting the expectations of their clients.
She also credited their success to having the right team, dedication, professionalism and hard work. “We have spent much time and allocated significant resources to train and get all front-and-back house staff up to speed on customer service best practices. Also consider offering professional development opportunities as a way to recruit employees eager to build a career in the restaurant industry.”
Although the palms are validation that they are on the right track, Kaiyamo was forthright that the journey has not been without its challenges.
Fees (which include having to contend with royalties and escalating rental costs) and labour challenges (having to employ a significant number of relatively unskilled employees to conduct their business), remain some of the challenges they have to deal with.
These challenges however have not taken anything away from the success of News Café Windhoek. In a short space of time it has become one of the trendiest hang-out spots in the city, so much so that securing a table for the late birds on any given evening is a challenge, but even that does not deter patrons who patiently wait.
By combining the service and product attributes of a coffee bar, cocktail bar, restaurant and entertainment venue under one roof, News Café has become a trendsetter in Windhoek.
“At the moment, there are no plans to open more branches in Namibia. We are currently focused on perfecting our business model in Windhoek to ensure that we continuously improve our customer service at all times and retain our status as the most trending spot in town,” she concluded.
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