Desmond Mabuza has redefined the meaning of fine dining with his extravagant Signature Lounge restaurant, situated in the shopping hub of the wealthy - Sandton City.
Career shift
Soweto-born engineering graduate Desmond Mabuza says his plunge into the restaurant industry was accidental. “I had an opportunity way back in 1999/2000, when casinos were starting out, to be involved as a silent partner in a restaurant. And let’s just say I got hooked and fell in love with it.” He says engineering was something he was good at, while hospitality was his passion and something he wanted to do for the rest of his life. After realising his passion and fully committing to hospitality, Mabuza identified a gap in the Sandton node for a luxurious restaurant, catering for upmarket clientele. “The ideal location for this was Sandton, so I happened to know all the developments that were taking place in Morningside, contacted the developers and told them the concept I was looking to put together and that this would be the ideal location for that to take place. Fortunately they knew about me and what I was about, based on nine years of being in the industry, and they quite liked the concept and here we are.”
Gutsy capital
To create his luxurious lounge, Mabuza had to involve partner Richard Moloko to raise the necessary capital for the venture. Mabuza admits setting up a place of this calibre needed a lot of guts because “a lot of people view your vision as being foolish”. With the economic crisis in 2009, it was easy for people to try and discourage him. “But I knew I was going to offer something that did not exist in the marketplace at the time. An upmarket restaurant with great food, great service and great entertainment all under one roof, so those negatives did not affect my vision.” Signature has ticked all the boxes when it comes to exquisite dining for its target market – individuals above the age of 35, occupying directorship positions, ministers and company owners whose needs were not being met by many restaurants. The unique style, elegance and quality service offered by Signature opened border gates for the business. Mabuza and Moloko opened another Signature restaurant in Nigeria. “In Nigeria it was quite an interesting one, we had to learn some dynamics and incorporate some local cuisine as part of our menu because you can’t always come and impose something that you have in a different location. Although you are going there on the basis that you are offering something different than what they have, to a great extent I think somebody wants something that is very profound.” Mabuza says when you grow a brand, you can act global but think local because your brand will need to resonate with the local community. “The plan is to make Signature a Pan African brand”.
Lesson from failures
While his vision and plan for Signature were clear, Mabuza also reflects on past failed ventures, saying that his entrepreneurial journey has not been the smoothest of journeys. “In 2010 I opened a restaurant called Wall Street that didn’t go so well. The location was wrong.” He says this taught him the importance of location, stating that “for every venture, whatever the business, location is key”.
