How container chicken shacks help empower townships
The music is loud and the uniforms even louder as staff in colourful shirts prepare grilled chicken meals at a new fast-food shack in Soweto. The youngsters are polite and enthusiastic and one brings me a bowl of hot water and a towel to wash my hands before I eat. Passers-by look with curiosity and a little envy at customers eating in the bright red shipping container decorated with chirpy chicken logos. It’s one of 10 Nkukhu Boxes, a chain designed for the townships that should have Nando’s, McDonald’s and KFC watching with concern. The franchise owners of this Orlando branch, Hepworth Xaba and Tshepiso Ntuli, defected to Nkukhu Box from a rival food chain they worked for because this is a black-owned business that wants black people to benefit, says Xaba. They drove around Soweto looking for the perfect spot and chose Letsatsi Street, near a court, police station, taxi rank and a student residency. They also set up a car wash next door so customers can leave with a full belly and...
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