Sana Restaurant: A Trendsetter in Quality Food in Malawi
The Food Court situated in Lilongwe adjacent to the Sana Mega Store is probably one of the best eating houses in the country.
LILONGWE, Malawi — Sana Restaurant is setting the trend in as far as providing quality food is concerned in Malawi.
The Food Court situated in Lilongwe adjacent to the Sana Mega Store is probably one of the best eating houses in the country.
The furniture is world class and the way it is set provides customers with an ambience to the extent that one can easily forget that they are in Malawi.
The food is very succulent and it satisfies each and every customer’s eating buds as the variety is very diverse and can suit each and every person’s pocket.
AfricaBrief’s Christopher Jimu (CJ) sat down with The Food Court Director Ahsim Shahzad to hear more from him what makes the Food Court a must visit.
CJ- Most customers claim that they prefer eating at Sana Food Court because of the quality of food on offer. What is your secret?
Ahsim- We always make sure that we have everything that every customer requires. Our food ranges from French fries with wings to ice cream, pizzas, burgers as well as fish to all kinds of vegetables which are fresh and halaal. On top of that our prices are very fair that every customer regardless of colour and creed can easily afford.
CJ- Some customers claim that some items on your menu are not readily available.
Ahsim- That is not true. What appears on the menu is always available. We have set our standards very high because we adopted international standards because we get all kinds of customers, some from abroad and we do not compromise on standards. Our staff are well trained and we regularly have internal training courses so that we maintain high standards because food is a must have for all.
CJ- Some customers are of the view that they would have preferred to pay at the table instead of paying at the till. Do you think this is feasible? Can you change this arrangement?
Ahsim- It is not feasible to change this practice because it is the standard practice everywhere. In all leading eating houses around the world customers pay at the till and we cannot change this practice.
CJ- Some customers are also of the view that they would love to bring their own drinks because they find your beverages a bit expensive.
Ahsim- We allow customers to purchase drinks from the mega store because we are the same institution. Our drinks are not expensive because we cannot be charging the very same prices as groceries. We need to cover costs of keeping the drinks in our big fridges. These fridges consume a lot of electricity and we pay huge bills so we have to cover the costs. We have on the other hand heard the concerns and we will sit down as management to see what we can do.
CJ- Most businesses like yours face challenges in retaining staff as most of the time staff are looking for greener pasture elsewhere. Is it also the case here?
Ahsim- Yes, most staff are looking for greener pasture and we also face the very same challenge. However we make sure that we make our staff happy because if we continue losing staff we lose experience which is very invaluable to us. We cannot function very well if we continue losing staff and our staff is our lifeline.
CJ- What is it that makes your place a must visit for customers?
Ahsim- This place is situated at a location where one can easily access as we are centrally located. The eating house is spacious and the inside and outside offers customers enough space both for their cars as we have ample parking space and our furniture is also very beautiful. On top of that our food is halaal and very succulent.
CJ- Any last words
Ahsim- We want to assure our customers that we will maintain our set standards so that we continue giving them the best. We want to encourage our customers to give us feedback whether positive or negative. We will always give them the best.