A Simple Recipe For Restaurant Business Success

Twenty-five years ago, when Fats Lazarides decided to open the first Ocean Basket, many thought his seafood restaurant wouldn’t find favour in South Africa. Well, that restaurant turned out to be the start of a hugely successful – and much-loved – brand.

- Glenneis Kriel

Over the past 25 years, Ocean Basket has gone from a small restaurant with just six tables into an international food business hit. Fats Lazarides, who started the company with his brother George, spoke to finweek.

What did you do before you started Ocean Basket?

I left school at 16 and went to the military to get it behind me. After three years in the navy, I got a job at Squires Loft in Sun City, where I fell in love with the restaurant business.

Since I was a kid all I ever thought of and talked about was business and opportunities. So, after two years at Squires, I decided to broaden my skills base by learning plumbing and shop fitting. In the late 1980s I even opened a restaurant in Pretoria. It worked, but I realised it was not “the one”. So, I sold it after a few years. Thereafter, I worked as a receiving manager in Spar and continued to learn and look for business opportunities.

When did you start Ocean Basket? Why did it seem like a great idea at the time?

In 1995, while working at Spar in Bruma, my wife called me one day and told me that she had seen a site in Menlyn Park Shopping Centre. I shared my idea of having a seafood deli and small restaurant with the landlord, Yuri Haussmann, who gave me a break.

SA was in turmoil at the time. I, however, was excited. Because I came from a simple background and always saw only the wealthy enjoying seafood, I decided to focus on making seafood more accessible to the general population, by offering a simple menu with affordable seafood-only dishes.

The recipes were inspired by my mother. My brother, George, together with a staff member developed the rice and the creamy lemon sauce recipe.