Nando's bounces back from building collapse

BULAWAYO fast food outlet, Nando's, which abruptly closed shop in February this year after its veranda roof collapsed on customers and passersby – killing one – re-opened yesterday.

Before officially opening, the outlet had conducted a dry run on Monday to test the waters and yesterday, the only Nando's in Bulawayo was a hive of activity with eager customers spotted buying various meals.

By the look of things, builders have strengthened the pillars and the roof to ensure there will not be another collapse in the future.

Warren Meares, chief executive officer of Simbisa group who run the eatery, said it was all systems go.

"Nando's reopened on Tuesday after the dry run we did on Monday where we'd invited certain friends of ours such as suppliers to get a feel of the place and the food.

"We were happy with the dry run as we wanted to test our systems, stoves and staff," said Meares.

He said they were happy with the renovations made by their landlord Tetrad and guaranteed foodies that the roof would not collapse again.

"Tetrad worked hard on restoring the building and all we did was to clean up the place.

"So far, it seems that the Bulawayo City Council is happy with the building and that's why we've been given the green light to re-open," said Meares.

Considering that the restaurant itself was not affected, Meares said nothing had been changed.