In an era where many restaurants have struggled to survive, Lord Prawn has not only endured but thrived for 50 years. The seafood restaurant will mark 50 years on Friday, May 2.
The restaurant was first located on West Street in the Durban city centre before moving to uMhlanga.
His late older brother, Gary, recruited John Chemaly, 77, a former policeman, to help run the business. Before leaving the force, he would help on his days off.
Then Gary moved to Johannesburg.
“When the casinos and Gateway opened, I shrank the business and moved Lord Prawn to the front; we were in the back,” Chemaly said.
When general manager, Gerhard Rothmann, 45, joined him, things improved tremendously, he added.
“My brother passed away two years ago, but I’ve been on my own for like 20 years. I bought him out when he wanted to sell Lord Prawn,” Chemaly said.
“I sweated blood against the wall. I was working hard and eventually I got to the top. That is dedication.”
Chemaly knows what goes on at the restaurant and he feels that is how a business is run.
“Then you have a guy like him (Gerhard), he runs my business like it’s his own. You don’t find them like that. You don’t find managers like that. And that’s the secret of this business,” Chemaly said.
“I trust him; I’m like a father to him, and he treats me like a father.”
Rothmann said this was his career, and he respected his boss.
Customers from the UK, America, and Germany, to name a few, visit Lord Prawn on their holiday tours.
Although the menu suggests seafood, they offer poultry, meat, curries, and vegetarian options.
Rothmann implemented changes to dessert, cocktails, and drinks.
“I strongly believe people get tired of the same things. So they want something new and that will bring people back,” Rothmann explained.
He used his knowledge to take the restaurant to great heights.
“We have technology. We are on social media. People want change, and you must adapt to it. Sometimes you need to take a risk, but don’t change what works. If you change something and it works, good. If it doesn’t work, change to something else,” Rothmann said. “Listen to your customers.”
He said there were 70 restaurants in uMhlanga to Gateway before Covid and now there are 128.
“Oceans opened up. Yes, we felt it. People went to try them, but they came back,” Rothmann said.
“There are a lot more people here and more hotels. If they’re not comfortable here, they’re going to go to the next one.”
With the Covid-19 pandemic, the 138-seater restaurant had to reinvent the way it did things.
“Before, we didn’t focus so much on takeaways. With Covid, we had to now think about how we were going to do takeaways,” Rothmann said.
He said for many years the restaurant was closed between 3pm and 5.30pm, but told the boss they needed to open.
Rothmann added: “The last seven years, what I did for the boss was to remind people that Lord Prawn is still here. We still serve consistency, the same quality food, quantity, at the right price.”
During Covid, the restaurant closed for two months but opened in June and July for takeaways. Then August, September, and October were normal trade.
“We took it day by day, and we’re grateful that we survived. Lord Prawn has been out there for so long, and even with the takeaways, customers reviewed us and put photos on Facebook and Google,” Rothmann said.
He also took old reservation books and messaged each customer about their takeaways.
Lord Prawn has a chef who has been with the boss for 47 years. He started as a scullery boy and now he is the head of the kitchen.
Rothmann said they looked forward to another 50 years.
“The boss’s legacy will go on. The name Lord Prawn is not just known in uMhlanga, people often ask us to open up in Cape Town, Witbank, and even the UK.”
