It is a beehive spot for foods and drinks.
The grass-thatched New High Way Restaurant And Take Away surrounded by mango and jack fruit trees remains Masaka City’s darling eat-out place.
Thirty years ago, Herman Mwanzi, also the director of Multi-Investors Uganda Limited picked the audacity to start up New High Way Restaurant And Take Away along Masaka- Mbarara road.
Mwanzi is the elder brother of Charles Kirumira, the manager of the restaurant.
Kirumira says that the harsh reality in restaurant business is that most fail within the first year, frequently due to lack exposure.
“Actually, my first job was to be a waiter here (restaurant) during my senior six vacation,” he says.
“My brother is old now, he cannot actively participate in it as he would have done back then, he saw that there was a need to cater for customers who could make stopovers at Total petrol station to get fuel; and decided to start up a small takeaway.”
According to Kirumira, the restaurant feasible plan was ignited by a travel in South Africa Mwanzi, had taken and while from there, he saw a petrol station surrounded by a restaurant, swamped with loads of customers and decided to plan it here for Masaka.
“Actually, he replicated what he saw in South Africa into something that could attract locals,” Kirumira, who later took a course in International trade at International intercontinental University recollects.
To Mwanzi’s astonishment, the customers grew and eventually expanded the facility into a restaurant that today sits on 3-acres piece of land.
“We never expected this place to be what it is today. But look, tourists make stopovers here as they go to Lake Mburo and other surrounding tourism areas, which also boost the place,” he shares.
Since, international travelers always need to refresh themselves after two hours while on their way, this place was always going to be a bee-hive for them.
“With good service, strategic location of the place, the restaurant has been able to blossom into a huge eatery you see now,” Kirumira, clad in a blue stripped shirt says.
As increasing numbers of consumers want to dine out or take prepared food home, the number of food-service operations has grown and the place has generally turned out to be an open place for many.
They offer local foods; chips and chicken shs.14000, snacks; shs. 3000 to shs 10000 and packed juice which also goes for shs.5000. They also started up a local buffet sold at shs 20000. Others that kept on being demanded is coffee; and they opened up a coffee bar.
Earlier this year, they partnered with Klu Coffee company that supplies them local coffee which range from; shs 5000 to shs 8000.
“In between 2002 to 2005 I used to part time as a bar tender at Starbucks, a chain cofee restaurant in London and from there, I gained some skills,” he says. Eventually, he did it also in USA at Dunkin Donuts, a chain coffee restaurant too which helped him to enforce that knowledge into the business he is running today.
According to Kirumira, 95 percent of customers are travelers or tourists and they do all it takes to give them highly international services. And because the place works 24/7, even those that travel at night are catered for.
The most important thing highly attracting travelers is the open space this place gives them; parking and of course good washrooms and the quality of foods.
To him, the busy days of the restaurant is Friday, Saturday and Sunday and their peak season is always in the festive season.
The restaurant today employs 43 workers. Like any blossoming restaurant, Kirumira says they offer internship for students pursing catering and hotel management. To this; they organize even musical events at the weekend for their customers.
Challenges
The cost of keeping the standards of this place; according to Kirumira, is conversely high. The restaurant kitchen equipment too are expensive; and recently, they bought a coffee maker machine at shs.7m and water boiler at shs.7m and the cake display counter that costs shs13m.
“On averagely, we spend shs.1.5m on water monthly, and approximately shs.2m on electricity bills and when added with staff salaries; it gives prompts us to work hard,” he says.
According to him; one to start the restaurant business, they must be very passionate, and the biggest capital is human resource not money as some people perceive it.
“Today, starting up a high level restaurant can cost you shs.50m to shs.100m. But, if one has experience in it, you can do small and do it perfectly,” he shares.
In restaurant business; international people pay well as compared to locals so; one also need international exposure and skills to expand it.
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