Chapter 2 starts a new food chapter
Rocket balls, Gatsby, Satchmo and Hong Kong pears. These are a few of the mouth-watering specialities on the menu of Chapter 2, an Asian restaurant in Potchefstroom that is celebrating its first birthday this September.
Whereas covid-19 has destroyed lives and businesses since it started spreading in 2020, Chapter 2 not only started from scratch, but has managed to survive thanks to some drastic measures, according to Gift Mayeza, the manager of the restaurant.
The restaurant, located in Dr James Moroka Avenue, Potchefstroom, adjusted its prices to be as low as possible and did take-aways only during the periods in which a hard lockdown was enforced.
They also got creative and implemented the “behind the white door experience”. If you booked a stay in the small boutique hotel, Industry on James, situated above the restaurant, they provided visitors of the hotel with room service at affordable prices.
According to Mayeza, who has been in the food industry since the age of 11, Chapter 2 is a self-made project which was started with some savings and only made a R1 800 turnover in the first month after it opened its door.
The restaurant and it’s creative menu was inspired by the gaps the founders, who choose to remain anonymous, noticed in the town’s food market. The restaurant’s oriental decor and menu are only a couple of the examples of how originality drove the decision-making when the business started.
In anticipation of its anniversary, Chapter 2 is looking forward to the introduction of a new menu. The menu change is part of plans to broaden the restaurant’s customer base and to increase its profitability.
According to Mayeza the owner of Chapter 2 aims to attract other customers such as North-West University (NWU) students and people from the African community.
The restaurant also offers a cigar lounge whereby clients can enjoy a puff in a private room. The owner and manager encourage their potential customers to pay a visit at Chapter 2 to “sit down and see,” what their young, dynamic and self-built restaurant has to offer.
“It’s something different in the best way possible,” said Jolíze Jansen, an occupational therapy student at the NWU and regular Chapter 2 customer.
Their famous rocket balls, a mild mixture of rice, mayonnaise and chili peppers, deep fried, topped with a cheesy sauce and blow torched when they are served, is a popular dish for regulars like Jansen.
Other menu items include the Gatsby, which is steak (200/400g) grilled with a special sauce, Satschmo, a bowl dish for two, containing a variety of meats and vegetables and lastly Hong Kong pears which are traditional pears deep fried in an oil mixture. These dishes are in an affordable price range, starting from as low as R50 per meal and going up to about R200.
But many residents have not yet experienced Chapter 2’s food. According to a snap survey of eight NWU students, they are not familiar with the restaurant.
But more than half of these students seemed very eager and excited to know more about Chapter 2 and to visit the restaurant.
Most of these students enjoy Asian food. One of the eight students, who stated that she does not like Asian food, was still interested in visiting Chapter 2.
“It is general knowledge that most students here love take-out and despise the effort attributed to a home-cooked meal,” said Brandon Steenkamp, a pharmacy student, who also likes Asian food.
He believes that Chapter 2 will do well since the Asian restaurants in Potchefstroom are usually packed with customers.
Apart from serving good food, the restaurant looks to empower all its employees by implementing cross-training.
Mayeza states that the training provides long term employees with opportunities to broaden their skills and knowledge, allowing them to perform a wider variety of tasks. – Ann Shoai, Elzet Mans, Nicolaas Ackermann and Zané Neethling