Former soccer team’s boss plans to change menus of debranded Kruger restaurants

With the debranding of three former Mugg and Bean restaurants in the Kruger National Park, a few changes are on the cards (and on the menu).

March 14, 2017

Elize Parker 1 minute read

There will be a change to the menus at the previous Mugg and Bean restaurants in the Satara, Letaba and Olifants Camps in the KNP if the former franchisee gets his way. According to him he will restructure the menu with consultants and there will be real South African food like wors on the plate.

SKUKUZA – The Mugg & Bean and Debonairs Pizza restaurants at Letaba, Satara and Olifants rest camps will be debranded.

According to SANParks acting head of communications William Mabasa, following a host of complaints by guests on various social media platforms in relation to the quality of service experienced by guests at Mugg and Bean and Debonairs pizza restaurants at Letaba, Satara and Olifants camps in the KNP, a dispute has been declared.

SANParks said in a statement today at 14:30 the three restaurants formerly franchised by Famous Brands, is managed by an outsourced operator and the dispute is between the Franchisor and the Franchisee. SANParks however requested Lowvelder to withdraw this statement and apologised for the inconvenience.

The former Mugg and Bean premises at Letaba camp. Famous Brands said to Lowvelder they had “regretfully terminated the franchise agreement between the Group and the franchisee of the Mugg & Bean and Debonairs Pizza restaurants at the Letaba, Satara and Olifants’ camps in the Kruger National Park.”

The franchisee, Mr Pat Malabela, of the PM Group, is a businessman formerly from Polokwane, now in Gauteng. He used to be the soccer boss who owned First Division soccer team Dynamos (now defunct).

The Mugg & Bean in Lower Sabie is owned by a different franchisee and is not part of the dispute.

A spokesman for the Famous Brands company told Lowvelder that the franchisee was in breach of the terms of the franchise agreement.

The former Mugg and Bean premises at Olifants Camp. “Despite interaction with the franchisee following a breach in terms of the franchise agreements, the franchisee failed to remedy the situation notwithstanding having had opportunity to do so,” said a spokesperson of Famous Brands to Lowvelder.

Malabela confirmed that “the coffee and food will still be offered the same way and at the same standard.”

He plans to “restructure the brand offering to guests by changing the menu. We will have a move towards African food and will serve dishes like pap and wors.”

WATCH a video on savour the true Kruger flavour

If Malabela goes ahead with his plans to continue running the restaurants in these camps, he says they will be called Ringgolds Restaurants.

Ms Rentia van Eyssen, owner of the Mugg & Bean in Lower Sabie and the Wimpy Pretoriuskop with business partner Ms Virginia Boshoff, said there would be no change in their operation.