HARARE, Jul. 30 (NewsDay Live) — Entrepreneur Tinashe Mutarisi says Foodies will open its new Machipisa outlet on Saturday as scheduled despite last-minute electricity connection problems that forced the restaurant to switch to alternative power sources.
Mutarisi told NewsDay Live preparations were disrupted after the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) failed to connect the premises as planned.
“ZESA had initially assured us that they would connect us today, which would have been two days before our official opening. Unfortunately, they later called to explain that they had made an error in their quotation and had not included everything that was required,” he said.
“They apologised and suggested that we postpone our opening until next Saturday.”
Mutarisi said postponing the launch was never an option despite the additional costs.
“For us, postponing was never really an option. This Foodies journey has been a battle from day one. Every milestone has come with a new obstacle and every step forward has had another challenge waiting for us,” he said.
“We have had to invest in generators and we will rely on the limited electricity supply that has been made available to us. We are also bringing in gas-powered equipment.”
The Machipisa outlet is the latest addition to the Foodies brand as competition intensifies in Zimbabwe’s hospitality sector.
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Mutarisi said the business was built around creating an experience beyond serving meals.
“Foodies was born from the belief that a restaurant can serve much more than food. It can serve hope, inspiration and a sense of belonging,” he said.
“We want people to come for good food but leave inspired to fight another day, chase their dreams and believe that good people can still win.”
He said the experience underscored the challenges entrepreneurs continue to face and called for improved service delivery to support local investment.
“Entrepreneurship is never easy, especially in an environment where infrastructure and service delivery can sometimes create unexpected setbacks,” Mutarisi said.
“We want Foodies to make Zimbabwe proud and to show every young person, even someone growing up in the ghetto, that world-class businesses can be built from right here at home.”
