Growing up, Thapelo Kekana was obsessed with creating extraordinary meals and art. Today, his culinary baby – The Spot Restaurant – is elevating South African fast food foods to unprecedented heights. Starting with the kota.
Kotas are often seen as low-quality and messy. Tired of the stereotype, he decided to redefine what a kota could be.
Kekana is from the vibrant village of Moletlane in Zebediela, Limpopo. Growing up, he was obsessed with creating extraordinary meals and art.
“I am an innovative and well-reviewed artist with great drawing, writing, painting, business, marketing, and culinary skills,” he shares.
Chasing food and art
Soon after matriculating in 2006, Kekana enrolled to study instrument trade and theories at Tshwane North College from 2008 to 2010. In 2012, he was selected as one of the top four Limpopo’s youngest visionary minds to benefit from a five-year theoretical and practical internship by the national department of public works and Lepelle Nkumpi from 2012 to 2017.
“After working on five projects as a construction site manager and supervisor, I hated it. So I decided to reposition my nine-to-five construction/career pursuit to pick up and resume my chase and passion for food and art. In 2019, my best friend and I secured enough capital to open our dream restaurant, The Spot Restaurant.”
The story behind the fancy kota
Thapelo’s kota creations are a towering work of art. Photo: Supplied/Thapelo Kekana
Often stereotyped for its low-quality ingredients and lackluster presentation, Kekana saw an opportunity to elevate the kota to unprecedented heights.
“Kota is a famous, easy, and affordable South African fast food stereotyped as having cheap, low-quality ingredients, untidy presentations, and a shared taste.
“We based our business plan on changing the quality and reputation of this authentic Mzansi food. We created a restaurant that modifies and modernises kotas into unique food art that comes with high-end quality and taste.
“We prepare our kotas in a neat and professional environment. We serve every meal in a warm and pleasant atmosphere,” he shares.
What sets their kota’s apart is the premium quality ingredients, exclusive sauces, unique spice blends, fine herbs, distinctive food preparation techniques, and exceptional food presentation methods they use.
“We are currently the most expensive kota spot because we need high-quality ingredients to build these high-quality kotas, and high-quality stock comes at a high price.”
Kekana says they are on a strict mission to put kota among the levels, worth, standards, and fame of internationally recognised cuisines like Italian pasta, Japanese sushi, and Indian curry.
They are currently at Moletlane R519, five blocks from Zebediela Plaza, trading from Monday to Monday.
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Learning from setbacks
Due to their past lack of business research and knowledge about the importance of a complying business plan, Kekana shares that the business ran at negative cash flow and markup in May 2023, and they had to close their doors due to a lack of finances.
“During our unforeseen trading break, we studied, researched, and made all the plans needed to improve our sales, marketing strength, and revenue.
“Our new business plan demands a higher amount of capital to resume action, and with our current practice plan in action, our strict mission is to use innovative marketing strategies to get greater local and international product exposure. The lack of capital reposed most of our pre-planned sales strategies and plans.”
Also, due to the due to the success and popularity of their business, they have attracted a lot of imitators and online harassment. To deal with this, they are providing training to their team members to handle and plan for any potential threats or obstacles.
Kota dates
The Spot Restaurant has become an accessible and favourite place for locals to host friendly or romantic kota dates, birthday dinners, family dinners, and chilled outdoor hangouts.
“We are on a constant mission to please and secure the attention of local food lovers, town visitors, influential food bloggers, and traveling foodies as our customers are captivated by our unique food presentation and taste.”
“This has become Zebediela’s most recommended place to host business meetings, birthday parties, fun family dinners, fun entertainment events, and for hard-working locals to enjoy their hard-earned money. The Spot team is most famous for giving out pleasant, neat, and warm services in a uniquely warm and comfortable atmosphere.”
Unlike most of their competitors, Kekana says they are not just focused on local sales and exposure but strive to build an internationally recognised restaurant with plenty of positive reviews and revenue.
“We aim to never compromise the quality and standards of our food preparation time, preparation method, style, and taste. We aim to use strategic marketing and strictly follow the guidelines of our business plan. We aim to put our Kota spot on highs and lengths that our past and current competitors failed to reach.”
They leverage technology and the internet to enhance marketing efforts and produce quality videos and photos to showcase their meals. As a result they have reached over 30 million social media clients. “We benefitted thousands of far and local customers, and we are currently projecting a higher demand should we afford to hold modern food preparation tools and resources as assets.”
The art of kota crafting
Kekana says their R250 Kota Mtavaso is one that best represents the culture of their food, as it is South Africa’s most expensive, trending, and extraordinary food-art kota.
“Kota Mtavaso has over 45 centimetres of height, multiple steps of unique flavours, and over 15 quality ingredients. This kota impacted The Spot brand with great local and international exposure. Because of the R250 kota, we have gained podcast interviews, national radio interviews, and mentions on television news since its release in 2022.
“I am impressed with the uniqueness of The Spot Restaurant. We have a variety of choices to suit the needs and preferences of different food lovers, from a vegetarian’s favourite fish, hake kota, to a meat lover’s favourite fillet, Russian, or pattie kota. Our kota menu comes in a variety of sizes to satisfy different kinds of appetites.”
Furthermore, he adds that their long-term goal is to build an authentic, well-resourced, well-reviewed, and highly recommended Kota Restaurant, recognized by local and international connoisseurs of food.
“We have plans to turn our kota restaurant into a great revenue-increasing business. The Spot Restaurant aims to improve and develop the economic state of our team members, partners, and community members.”
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Chef Lorna’s kota that went to private school
Ingredients
- Milk loaf, sourdough, or any other soft bread of your choice
- Between four and eight slices of boerenkaas cheese
- Atchar
- Homemade aioli (or mayonnaise)
- Sweet potato chips
- Sausage (polony is the Mzansi favourite!)
- Tomato salsa
Instructions
- Cut your milk loaf, sourdough, or any other soft bread of your choice into quarters, and hollow these out.
- Add a generous spread of aioli to each kota, then add a layer of chips followed by the cheese and the atchar. Top with slices of sausage and a generous scoop of the tomato salsa. Serve with extra mayonnaise and atchar on the side.
