For nearly a decade Ocean Basket Worcester has been serving its customers with excellence, taking pride in serving affordable quality food with a smile.
The restaurant was recently crowned as Ocean Basket’s National Franchisee of the Year for 2015. Beating 164 other franchisees across the country, the family-owned restaurant is also the first Western Cape branch to be crowned the overall winner in the last 12 years.
“We kind of expected to win the Western Cape regional competition because we knew we had a good chance of winning but we never thought we would be crowned the national champions. This was a huge surprise for us,” says Neil Louw, managing owner of the branch.
The Louw family took over the reins of the franchise from the previous owners in 2009. In a few short years, the restaurant has gone from strength to strength with the family at the helm.
Louw explains that the judging process sees an official from head office visit the restaurant for inspection and evaluation on a monthly basis. Throughout the competition period, the restaurant’s growth is continuously monitored as well.
“Furthermore, we are evaluated by Food Consultancy Services (FCS), an independent quality control company, every month. In addition, we also receive spot check visits from mystery diners, arranged by Ocean Basket head office,” Louw adds.
He believes the recipe for their success is based on teamwork. “Our biggest asset is our staff, who are dedicated , friendly and passionate about our business. Almost all our staff have been with us since we took over Ocean Basket Worcester. We believe in teamwork and the results are evident in the positive feedback we get from our valued customers. For that reason, we decided to divide the prize money among the team – from cleaners to managers.”
As part of the prize, Ocean Basket Worcester also won a trip for two to Italy which includes in the trip is a culinary course.
In keeping with its belief to support local businesses, thereby ensuring the sustainability of the local economy, it is a proud supporter of local wineries and the local vegetable market.
It supports community upliftment programmes and prides itself on its tag of being a family restaurant.
To showcase this, Ocean Basket Worcester is hosting a colouring competition for children, aged 12 and younger, from November to January.
With youths getting the opportunity to demonstrate their creative talents, they will stand the chance of winning fantastic prizes.
In giving back to the community and thanking them for the continued support over the years, the restaurant management has something special up their sleeve.
“We are busy compiling a special menu as part of our gratitude towards our loyal customers for their support,” Louw explains.
“This special menu will be custom-built for Ocean Basket Worcester and will only be available at this restaurant.”
For more information on Ocean Basket Worcester and its special offers, follow them on Facebook.
