The Sunday News
Peter Matika, Senior Life Reporter
A BUSINESS venture that may have started off as a modest dream for a former military man — Xolani Dube has turned into more than just a dream but a competitive venture in the fast food industry, as it has begun yielding massive results.
Regarded as one of Bulawayo’s emerging and budding fast food outlets — Slice Pizzeria recently launched a promotion on some of its foodstuffs, as a way of thanking its clientele, while also making efforts to cushion its bustling clientele, given the cash crisis being experienced in the country.
Situated at corner 12th Avenue and Fife Street in Bulawayo, the outlet launched the promotion last month, as a way of commemorating three years in business, as well as trying to remain afloat in the industry.
“I established this outlet in August of 2013 but began running it full-time in October that same year. It was always my passion to run a food outlet. I am a former military man but I have always had a passion for the hospitality industry. After I left the army I migrated to South Africa in 2007, where I worked as a waiter and rose through the ranks to become a manager.
“It was there that I managed to save enough capital and knowledge about running a restaurant and also various recipes to establish this place in 2013. The initial idea was to start a traditional food outlet but I then decided to venture into pizza seeing that it was less congested, had more potential and would also create competition in the industry,” he said.
Dube said, as is the trend with any start-up business, he feared suffering losses but was astounded to realise profits and popularity from the local community.
“At first people were not sure about the type of pizza we make, knowing that there already was a pizza giant operating. With time people developed an interest in our brand and we have since become a favourite,” he said.
Slice Pizzeria manager Mellisa Nyirenda spoke about the promotion, which she said would run indefinitely and that they were proud to be one of the few outlets that offer customers value for money.
“We have been in business for the past three years and through this promotion we are also giving back to our customers. We have reduced most of the prices for many of our foodstuffs and also given the cash crisis, as a growing business we see it fit to remain afloat by pushing volumes, while also offering the best products and services,” said Mellisa.
She added that while an increasing number of businesses are listed in critical condition, with several others facing imminent closure, their business remained afloat due to strategic planning.
Slice Pizzeria is famous for preparing tasty and exquisite pizzas, using the traditional Italian methods, where they use fire instead of electricity.
“The oven we use to prepare the pizza is called a wood-fired oven, which is the traditional and most preferred method of making pizza. The oven is different in the sense that the rich flavours of the ingredients are more pronounced and is faster to cook. It only takes about three minutes to cook, which makes it easier, faster and economical from a business point of view,” said Nyirenda.
Mellisa mentioned that they had up to 35 flavours of pizzas available, of which 10 catered for vegetarians.
“We have 35 sumptuous flavours, 10 of them catering for vegetarians. We are also Halaal certified, meaning that we are able to sell food stuffs to non-pork eating individuals or groups. We cater for all, which is the core of our business. We use fire ovens instead of electronic ovens, which makes our brand unique as the use of wood fire retains the natural taste of ingredients,” she said.
Mellisa added: “We also have on our menu other fast foods such as fried chips, chicken pieces, sausages and other meals. We are certified Halaal and offer affordable pizzas, which have significantly seen a rise in competition in the industry,” she said.
Mellisa also noted that they had a mobile wood fire pizza oven, which is suitable for any outdoor event.
@peterkmatika
