If there’s one catchphrase that seems to be on everyone’s lips these days, it’s ‘load shedding’. From disrupting traffic and dinner time, to playing truant with work deadlines and homework, load shedding is a chronic malady without a cure. For restaurateurs, the pain is palpable.

The load shedding liability

 “Load shedding has impacted all businesses, but the restaurant industry has probably been the worst hit. We have seen a dramatic increase in alternative power costs, backup and fuel costs. At some stores this translates to an increase of 15-20% of monthly operating costs due to the increased load shedding levels, avers Sue Gajathar, founder, The Vegan Chef, Johannesburg and Durban. She continues, “While we are still able to manage without passing on these costs to our customers, as the input costs continue to increase, we may be forced to review pricing in the medium term to maintain profitability and sustainability.”

Larry Hodes, co-owner of Johannesburg-based Arbour Café & Courtyard, The Gourmet Grocer and Coffefe Roastery, agrees. “We have just come out of COVID and playing catch up in terms of revenues and expenses and now we have to factor in fuel; which can run up to R10 000 a month sometimes.”

Besides, not all restaurants have generators with the capacity to run restaurant operations in their entirety for prolonged hours during increased stages of load shedding. Kitchen equipment such as ovens, coffee machines, blenders and toasters cannot run on alternative fuel sources, which results in business losses for restaurants that are forced to stop offering certain popular menu items during load shedding.

“Although our kitchen is fully gas operational, our pizza oven runs on electricity and consumes too much power to be running on our generator, so we can’t make pizzas during load shedding, which is a top seller. This has resulted in a significant business loss”, remarks Marge Grobler, owner, of Pretoria-based JARR Bar and Restaurant. “The fact that our restaurant is in a residential area means that we can run our generator only between 6–10 pm, due to the noise factor. This has led to our live entertainment also being curtailed,” she adds.

Operational pains

In terms of operational impact, load shedding poses safety concerns, higher maintenance costs to run certain high-wattage equipment, point of sales issues and difficulties in working with low-voltage lighting in the kitchen, leading to delays in food orders. Food wastage as a result of spoilage during load shedding, or having to buy stock more frequently to avoid spoilage is an additional cost. Continuing to pay salaries to non-productive staff during load shedding hours and absorbing the increased operational costs without passing them on to the consumer are other challenges that restaurateurs have to contend with, while simultaneously maintaining the same high-quality standards to hold sway above the competition.

Wendy Alberts, CEO, the Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA) adds, “With more customers opting for home deliveries due to load shedding, there are critical concerns pertaining to late deliveries, food arriving cold, or orders being tampered with and items going missing from the order. Consequently, restaurants are facing a huge backlash because third-party delivery operators do not take responsibility for such issues.”

Strategies to adapt and stay profitable

Despite these myriad challenges, restaurants are learning to adapt to the ‘new normal’, focusing instead on the experiences that they can offer within the limitations of load shedding. Luckily, load shedding has also led to an increase in the number of restaurant patrons, who would rather enjoy a good meal in a vibey atmosphere than sit at home in the dark, wondering how to prepare dinner.

“The increase in load shedding has certainly placed added pressure on our business. Fortunately, we have just come through a fantastic season for the restaurant – the first one for the local industry since COVID. We were fully booked daily with both local and international visitors, so we are incredibly grateful. As winter approaches, we are certainly mindful of costs and will keep striving to make sure all our guests derive as much value as possible from their experience,” says chef Ryan Cole of Salsify at the Roundhouse, Cape Town.

 “We definitely see more families coming out to eat on weekdays and we expect this trend to increase going into winter. Restaurants are offering more specials, lowering pricing and offering complimentary Wi-Fi and activities to keep children entertained – all of which makes it more attractive for patrons to dine out,” notes Alberts.

Efficiency and cost-effectiveness

To reduce overhead costs, restaurants are using alternative fuel sources like gas or coal-fired ovens, enhancing energy efficiency, creating load shedding-friendly menus and adopting a preventive maintenance plan for losses incurred due to equipment damage during tripping and voltage fluctuation.

Jacques van den Berg, district manager – Rand Capital Coffee, a licensee of Starbucks SA, elucidates.

“To manage load shedding, we closely follow the schedules provided by the utility provider and plan our operations accordingly. We regularly service and fuel our generators to ensure smooth operation during load shedding. Our staff are trained to handle any potential issues that may arise during load shedding, and we have backup plans in place to ensure that we can continue to operate even during extended periods of load shedding in most locations. To maintain our high-quality products and service, we have made operational adjustments such as scheduling staff hours and inventory management, besides exploring ways to improve energy efficiency.”

The Marble Group, which is known for its experiential dining, utilizes solar power and has optimized its kitchen efficiency to deal with load shedding. “As a group, we pride ourselves on service, food quality and an overall excellent hospitality standard. During these times, people are of course more cautious about where and how they spend their money. We are here to ensure that when they choose to dine with us, they have an experience that is worth it in all aspects,” states Gary Kyriacou, owner of Marble Group.

Value-added offerings

Ensuring a range of targeted monthly specials, discounts and weekly deals, combined with social media buzz, digitization and customer self-execution via digital platforms, is how The Vegan Chef ensures business success, despite other economic shortfalls.

Ayman Soliman, general manager at Modern Tailors in Johannesburg echoes a similar viewpoint. “To ensure a steady stream of patrons, we change our menus every four months, have weekly and monthly specials for lunch and dinner and sharing menus for groups,” he says.

For JARR Bar & Restaurant, besides adding more food and drink specials to the menu, replacing frozen with fresh, made-to-order items like hand-cut fries, has helped in reducing menu prices with improved quality and taste.

“While load shedding is increasingly frustrating for all businesses, we have continued to remain open and continue serving our customers beautiful food, in stunning environments and with engaging personal service. We have also not strayed from ensuring that every meal consists of fine ingredients all prepared fresh and made to order – our customers continue to appreciate this, and we are grateful for their continued support,” concludes Savva Sideris, co-founder and managing director of Tashas Group.

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