These days, load shedding is a constant hurdle for South Africans, especially businesses in the food industry. With constant power outages, restaurants have turned to generators, but even then, they’re struggling with rising fuel prices.
From cooking equipment to walk-in freezers, to point-of-sale systems and lighting, restaurant-owners are under constant pressure to keep up with outages. According to Business Insider, “to keep all this working costs around R1,000 an hour in maintenance and fuel costs, which are 34% higher than they were last year this time.”
With no current end in sight for Eskom’s power struggles, businesses in South Africa will continue to plunge into darkness, resulting in restaurant owners having no other choice than to adapt.
How to Run Your Restaurant During Load Shedding
Here’s some essentials to keep your kitchen open when the power is out:
Backup Generator
A generator is one of the most important backup power options to invest in during load shedding. Although it’s not always affordable or accessible to some businesses, obtaining a backup generator might just be what you’ll need to stay open a little bit longer during dark hours.
However, if you lack the necessary space or have to rely on your landlord, this might not be an obstacle you can overcome.
"We've called to landlords to provide alternative sources of energy and generators [but] many landlords can't provide it or have not got capital to provide. And, simply, many of our sites don't lend themselves for our restaurants to put a generator in the spaces they are currently renting."
Gas Cooking Equipment
One of the best solutions is to equip your kitchen with gas cooking equipment! You don’t need to replace ALL your electrical cooking appliances, though. You can simply invest in a gas tabletop stove or gas tabletop fryers. These appliances are space-efficient and less clunky than your typical floor standing appliances.
Some benefits of gas cooking equipment:
- Full Heat Control
- Environmentally friendly
- Running cost savings
Lighting
Make sure you have additional lighting for your kitchen and dining area, whether you’re a restaurant or café. Your employees need to see what they’re doing and where they are going, and your customers need to see their surroundings while being able to safely eat and drink.
Battery-operated lights are perfect (like those you would use while camping). There are loads of different options on the market that could both fit your style and budget. You can place these in walkways, the kitchen, and the bathroom, for example. Fairy lights are also a wonderful option.
Try Candles for Tables
For the dining area, you can place a few candles on the tables! This can create a lovely atmosphere, and if you want to, you can choose scented candles. However, keep in mind that this might distract customers from smelling your exquisite dishes.
Ensure Food Stays Fresh and Safe
Without power, that often means refrigerators stop running as well. When you get hit with load shedding, a large concern is ensuring your food and inventory stays fresh.
If you have a walk-in fridge or cold room, ensure your employees keep the door closed as much as possible to ensure the coldness stays. Ensure you run through your stock when the power comes back after the two or four hours to ensure it’s still safe for consumption (and haven’t defrosted past the safe point).
Never serve customers unsafe food for the sake of keeping your doors open! Customers first, always.
Update Your Menu with Load Shedding-friendly Dishes, if possible
In this day and age, we’re used to adapting to changes that occur, almost daily. If possible, see if you can add to or adjust your menu to accommodate load shedding-friendly dishes that don’t need electricity.
Some examples:
- Braaied dishes like chicken wings, or lamb chops
- Salads
- Wraps
- Sandwiches
Ensure Card Payment Processor Machines are Charged of have Adequate Battery Life
During load shedding, your tablets or POS devices can run out of battery life, or could have technical issues, then you’d not be able to accept payments during power outages. These days, many customers prefer using a card or their phones to make a payment.
Some restaurants make use of the Yoco card machine to handle payments, and there are even card machines with flashlights included, to shed some light on the receipts!
Are You Looking for High-Quality Gas Cooking Equipment?
Need help choosing the right gas cooking equipment for your kitchen? At Caterware Connection, our specialists have the expertise to guide you through choosing the right equipment for your kitchen and will assist with installation.
