Sweet Success

After her husband’s death, Popi Zolas abandoned her corporate career and took on a restaurant franchise, before immersing herself in the catering and confectionery business.

- Motlabana Monnakgotla

AS A COST CONSULTANT working in the corporate space, Popi Zolas never thought she would one day be in the catering and baking business. But when life deals you rude surprises, you make plans to make the dough to live it down.

Her husband’s death in a car accident in 1997 resulted in her inheriting shares in the then popular Something Fishy restaurant in Johannesburg that her husband franchised.

After his death, she was thrown in the deep end and had to co-manage his business.

“I worked there for seven years together with a partner and we did phenomenally well but our visions were different and we had to buy each other out; he offered me more than [the amount] I was happy offer him. I exited the group in 2003,” she says.

Zolas rested for a while and went into franchise consulting, and then went on to research global eating trends in 2004. The same year, 180 Degrees Catering & Confectionery was born. She named the business after the standard temperature used for baking.

“This baby (180 degrees) is a very difficult baby, but it’s a very rewarding baby in the sense that people who start off as cleaners, end up in either the confectionery or catering department,” says Zolas.

It began as a restaurant in Bryanston, north of Johannesburg, employing 15 people, but has seen some changes over the years.

The initial idea was to create home-style, nutritionally balanced meals for families and corporate employees. Part of the concept was also to make high-end meals that would be convenient.