Ex-musician uses burgers to promote township tourism
PELANDABA suburb has the potential to be a tourist destination thanks to its former resident — the late Vice-President Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo. Should it live up to its potential, it will be ably complemented by a fast-food outlet that has changed the gastronomic landscape of one of the oldest suburbs in Bulawayo.
Enter Burger Side and claim your spot. The eatery, established by Bongani Mzila (31) a month ago serves as a one-stop shop for fast-food lovers in the area and its range of food includes burgers, Russian sausages, kotas, hot dogs, chips, polony and cheese.
Mzila, an advocate of behaviour change among wayward youths, said his food joint aims to promote kasi tourism, with gastronomic goodies as the foundation.
Burger Side eatery owner, Bongani Mzila preparing food at his food joint
“Burger Side was established to show that one doesn’t need to go to town to enjoy quality food. Many times, food from ekasi is not highly-regarded but we believe that joints in the precinct need to be given a chance to thrive as well.
“We also want to play our part in helping youths make informed decisions about their lives amid the drug pandemic engulfing us nowadays so if they see one of them being able to do something in the straight and narrow, they might copy and do likewise, thereby inspiring others in the process. This is a patriotic effort to play my part in being an exemplary youth especially ekasi where delinquency is rife,” he said.
Like any other entrepreneurial venture, Burger Side was not established overnight, it is a result of hard work, determination and perseverance.
Mzila’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2012 when he took up a job as a security guard in South Africa after relocating for opportunities. Two years later, he then traded the baton for heavy trays of food, dishes, and drinks in the hospitality industry where he worked as a waiter.
As a high school dropout, things weren’t rosy for Mzila who would do any menial job to survive in South Africa and this led him to be a pizzaiolo (pizza maker) and there, he met Letlogonolo Motseeng, a kasi restaurateur who runs his Moja Kitchen in Soweto. “Letlogonolo Motseeng challenged me and I saw that if one follows their dream, owning their own joint would be possible. I learnt a lot from him as he took me under his wing and gave me a job. He gave me the courage to face my fears of thinking that establishing my own thing would be a risky move.
“As the world was still grappling with Covid-19, I had to think hard about what would my future holds given we didn’t know when the lockdowns would end. When limited business operations resumed, I bought myself a bicycle and would cycle to work to save myself some money to buy a mobile food cart. That was a risky move given the high crime rate in South Africa.”
In 2022, he plucked the courage to come back to Zimbabwe to unlock his life-long dream after being given a push by a former colleague, Takunda Rwafa who had established his food joint, Chicken Perfect in Kwekwe.
Takunda might have sowed the seed, the full-matured garden came from fellow fast-food joint and BnB owner, Junior Garnet who encouraged Mzila to set up his joint.
Bongani Mzila
Away from the heat of the kitchen, Mzila is also a photographer and was once a musician. -chronicle
