Meet the Absa Small Business Friday featured Small Business of the week – Fishmonger Centurion
Henrique Nelson Goncalves is the co-owner and head chef at Fishmonger Centurion. This upscale seafood and sushi restaurant was opened in 2005 with a focus on quality ingredients. Nelson Goncalves has designed a modern contemporary seafood menu inspired by flavours from around the world.
Fishmonger Centurion was started because they saw a gap in the local market for an upscale seafood restaurant. All the members of this family had experience in the hospitality industry and this together with their talents and passion for the industry led to excellent building blocks for a successful restaurant.
Customer interaction and satisfaction are what drive them. They place special emphasis on providing beautiful dishes and creating memorable experiences for their guests. They also find it rewarding to teach their staff new skills when producing new ideas for their menu. In essence, running their restaurant provides a sense of community and a way to share their love of food with their staff and customers.
Their passion for the hospitality industry and customer satisfaction is why they do what they do. When times are tough, their focus on high-quality food and service gets them through it as well as adapting to the changing food trends and customer preferences. Other areas of focus include careful and accurate financial planning, cost analysis, and budgeting.
They remain motivated and keep spirits high by having a strong support structure amongst family members, staff and other professionals within this industry.
Henrique believes that, “South Africa needs to support small businesses as they play a major part in creating jobs that contribute to local communities. This helps to reduce income inequality and encourages economic growth at a grassroots level and can also be a solution to uplift the youth in South Africa by providing much-needed skills for the future.”
He explains that, “Small businesses can adapt far quicker to changing conditions thereby promoting innovation which leads to improved products and services for consumers. This also means that small businesses bring uniqueness, originality, choices, and variety in a world that’s becoming increasingly homogenized.”
“Most small businesses are run by people – not by boards, not by shareholders, not by fancy algorithms, and as such small business owners have an intimate day-to-day hands-on approach that results in a different kind of care and quality because their product or service reflects who they are, their passions, and the unique needs of the community.”
Lastly, “Small businesses are a direct investment in the local economy that creates vibrant communities for its inhabitants, shoppers, and tourists. This strengthens and binds communities together.”
Find out more about Absa Small Business Friday here.