By Takemore Mazuruse
Julian Mutukudzi (36), who is the CEO of Zimbabwe’s fast-growing eatery Gotcha Nyama Steakhouse believes food is an expression of hospitality, joy, gratitude, prosperity, and happiness and no matter the circumstances and environment; people must treat themselves to good food and drink.
“When people want to demonstrate love, food is a necessity and the same applies to an expression of gratitude, happiness and any form of celebration,” Mutukudzi told Standard Style.
“It all comes down to food and drink and this explains why we are expanding our food business even amidst the operational challenges in Zimbabwe.
“Gotcha Nyama Steakhouse is the people’s brand and our services are tailor-made for customer satisfaction.”
Like Elizabeth Edwards posits, a good half of the art of living is resilience and it is no coincidence that Gotcha Nyama Steakhouse has opened a spacious and even more refreshing branch in Newlands, Harare following the success of their first branch situated at Joina City in Harare city centre.
“J K Rowling once said rock bottom is the solid from which we must rebuild our lives and at Gotcha Nyama Steakhouse, we believe the best way to circumvent challenges is innovation and making sure that our services are up to standard and meet our customer’s demands,” she said.
“We serve the best hot meals in town, all grilled and braaied which gives a refreshing departure from the greasy, oily and spicy foods that the market had for long been subjected to.
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“Our meals are prepared with love and you just cannot miss their unique taste.”
Mutukudzi said their quality services had seen their brand growing from the initial CBD branch at Joina City to yet another branch in Newlands complete with secure parking and a refreshing aura and ambience.
“Our Joina City branch services its own market. The place is a hub and meeting place and we realised most of the clients that we would serve there are the young and restless. The elderly and more reserved would mainly come in the evenings when the hustle and bustle would have subsided,” she said.
“We then thought of a more outlying, relaxing branch where clients can enjoy our quality service in a comely environment and without having to worry about parking fees, noisy city crowds and all the extras they come with.”
True to the young CEO’s assertion, the Newlands branch brings a new dimension to the Steakhouse’s operations in Zimbabwe.
Situated in Newlands’s Connaught Road close to the main shopping centre, Gotcha Nyama’s latest addition has the perfect ambience for those who love to enjoy good food and drink away from the madding crowd. It boasts of both a closed and open space setting which allows for fresh air and a relaxing breath-taking feel.
Mutukudzi also highlighted that they had also invested in making sure that the environs around their new branch depict their standards.
“We noticed the place was awash with potholes and dumps from locals and we deliberately invested in sprucing up the place so that we give our clients the perfect setting,” she said.
“We had to engage in some pot hole filling and patching up the road and we made sure that all the rubble and rubbish that was piling around this area is cleared.
“We also intend to invest in some street lights and billboards so that the place is well lit and visible to avoid any mishaps like mugging.”
With a pay-off line that says Pride of the African Grill, the Gotcha Nyama Steakhouse boss also hinted that they are introducing some traditional meals specials this January so that their place becomes a home away from home especially for those wishing to reminisce the good old times.
“We are introducing the Gotcha Nyama Traditional Lunch Specials (GTLS) which will be in form of buffets running from 12pm to 3pm on selected days,” she said.
“We will serve meals with protein, as well as traditional relishes like muboora, tsunga, nyevhe, covo, and road runner. Our starch will include brown rice, mhunga and zviyo,” she said.
The new branch has the perfect setting and space for various activities like conference and venue facilities, mini classic weddings, birthday parties as well as the kids play centre in the well-manicured gardens.
“This is an upmarket yet affordable steakhouse where hot and succulent meals are prepared while you wait with fewer headaches about traffic and other inconveniences,” Mutukudzi said.
“We have invested in creating an environment that gives people value for money and the place allows for all types of functions, including indoor and outdoor conference facilities, own grills in the gardens or with support from our chefs, business lunches in our fully air conditioned VIP lounges complete with Wi-Fi, a stage for performing artistes and brand activations to name a few.”
The joint has also hosted some of the big names in politics, business arts and showbiz and the CEO said their customer care was fast placing them ahead of their competition even as they continue working on opening more branches in Zimbabwe.
“Our tenacity, aggression and quality of service have taken us this far and we believe this is just, but the beginning of even bigger opportunities for the Gotcha Nyama Steakhouse brand,” she said.
“We have made sure that our operations are hitch free thanks to a stand by generator that powers our cold rooms and the entire place.
“Our three bars are always fully stocked with the perfect beverages and we believe that organisation and quality of service has seen us attracting and retaining customers.”
She thanked her husband and MD of the brand Samuel for their shared vision and highlighted that strong family values have kept them going inspite of the challenges.
“I am married to Samuel who is the MD of our business. We are blessed with two kids and also have other business interests that are also impacting community,” she said.
Mutukudzi promised an even more exciting and fun-filled 2020 as the fast growing steakhouse entrenches its influence and hold on the market.
“Our 2020 business year is packed with perfectly themed events some with a bias on women empowerment, reality shows where we will have women coming through for talent identification, total make over shows as well as other programmes hosted by radio Djs, all white parties, family fun days, eat outs, and braai outs among many,” she said.
