News24 | Pantry by Marble gears up for big push as former McDonald’s boss steps in

Image rendering of the Pantry by Marble pop-up at Mall of Africa.

Supplied/Marble Hospitality Group

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Pantry by Marble is gearing up for its next growth phase as it looks to expand in Johannesburg and across the country.

It aims to almost double its footprint by the middle of 2027.

The brand, founded by top chef-restaurateur David Higgs, has become known for its high-end deli-style forecourt offering.

Speaking on Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week, a weekly News24 podcast, new CEO Greg Solomon said the group, which has four stores at the moment, hoped to have five to seven stores launched by the middle of next year.

After that, Pantry by Marble will be in the “heavy-hitting” phase of its rollout.

LISTEN | Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week

‘If you want to be fancy, it’s complicated’

Solomon was CEO of McDonald’s South Africa for 15 years and spent a total of 30 years at the US fast food giant.

He said Pantry by Marble would be careful in its ongoing rollout of the retail brand, which has taken Johannesburg by storm.

The first Pantry was launched in 2022 at a Sasol petrol station forecourt, directly beneath Higgs’ acclaimed Marble Restaurant in Rosebank. Long queues of customers remain a regular sight at the store.

“These are big businesses. Each unit [shop is a] high-volume unit. They’re complicated businesses. If you want to be fancy, it’s going to be complicated.

“You can get your ice cream, you can get your pizza, you can get your expensive Champagne, but you can also get your everyday consumables, like your bread and your eggs and your fish and your milk. So these are important things that we need to solidify.”

Solomon said it was essential that the business gets the “fundamentals right” because each unit has its own economics.

“It’s one thing running a Pantry in Rosebank accurately with the head office right on your doorstep, but if we go down to Cape Town or if we go to George or if we go to Durban, you know these units need to be able to have an established system.”

This would also come in handy if the group ever considered franchising the chef-inspired brand down the road.

He clarified that the group was not yet considering franchising. However, if it ever did, it would “need a solid system to be able to sell into a franchise infrastructure”.

“We’re not there yet, but we’re working towards that.”

New and airy

The group recently launched a new store at Fourways Mall, double the size of the Rosebank offering and with a more “airy” feel, Solomon said.

“We’re able to produce better service because the same amount of customers are coming through, but in a different format. We’re perfecting it.”

The next few pantries would look different, he said, but added that they would “feel the same”.

The food will also remain the same, but the team will fine-tune what model works best.

Solomon apologised for the queues at some Pantry stores, but said he was “delighted with a difficult problem” as it indicated how popular the brand was and suggested a demand for more stores.

This podcast is sponsored by Capitec.

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