Since childhood Joanita Coetzee has fantasized about running her own restaurant, serving up play dishes for her baby brother from the time she can remember, but it always remained a vague dream – out of reach mainly because of how overwhelming it seemed. The long hours six or seven days a week required for running a restaurant would probably spoil her life-long passion for eating out, she thought.
But then, as she emerged from probably the most difficult time of her life, things fell into place that made it possible not only to own her own twin restaurants, LEjiT Lekker and LEjiT Unplugged in Bloemfontein, but to do it in such a way that she is able to run her accountancy practice at the same time without being overwhelmed. If anything, the experience has enhanced her interest in fine dining.
Joanita, who had no previous experience in the hospitality industry (apart from being an enthusiastic patron), runs the two restaurants together with her management team of three industry professionals consisting of her operations manager, chef and stock controller. Each of them, including Juanita, works as the manager on duty one evening per week and once a month each is on duty over a weekend. The result is a consistently well-managed restaurant that runs around the clock while everyone gets enough downtime to remain energised.
Apart from this sensible management structure, Joanita has set up robust systems through which she is able to control the restaurants remotely, although she makes sure to pop in regularly and randomly to keep her finger on the pulse.
Joanita’s ability to set up smooth-running systems stems from her rich experience as an accountant and CEO of a recruitment agency. Apart from a love of restaurants, Joanita discovered a passion for figures at school and knew from early on that she wanted to become a chartered accountant.
She started working at an accounting firm in Bloemfontein straight after school where she completed her chartered accountant articles. She qualified in 2008, started her own small accounting practice in 2013. One of her clients was the owner of a recruitment agency with whom she built up a deep friendship, and soon she found herself CEO of the agency, while still running her accounting practice on the side. Joanita says the experience gave her an intricate knowledge of human resources management, and her confidence as a well-rounded business manager grew.
Then her whole life turned upside down. Her husband, a fit, healthy police colonel in the prime of his life, succumbed to Covid-19 early on in the pandemic. The shock of his death set Juanita on a course to reprioritise her life. She resigned from the recruitment agency but kept going with her accounting practice on which she focused half of each day. In the other half, she studied towards an MBA.
At that stage Joanita knew LEjiT only as a lovely home-grown restaurant in the Dan Pienaar suburb of Bloemfontein where she and her husband enjoyed many evenings together. Then the owner came knocking at Joanita’s accounting practice, seeking help to find a buyer.
As usual, Joanita fantasised a bit about what it would be like to own it herself, but this time, aided by the healthy set of figures in LEjiT’s books that she carefully analysed, her dream crystalised into something attainable. She knew she would have to appoint expensive industry professionals to replace the owner’s skills, and that she would have to add the cost of finance to the expense sheet, but even then LEjiT’s prospects were excellent.
For finance, she knew exactly who to go to during Covid-19, Joanita had come into contact with The Sukuma Fund, an emergency programme managed by Business Partners Limited to help small businesses tide over the Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions. The local Mangaung staff of Business Partners Ltd impressed Joanita with their understanding of the challenges of owner-managed businesses that she went straight there to see if they would finance her purchase of LEjiT.
They came to the party with much more than just finance, says Joanita. Business Partners Ltd helped to evaluate the opportunity and she tapped into their industry knowledge and network. “What I get from Business Partners Ltd over and above the financing I can’t buy with money,” says Joanita.
Since taking over in January this year, Joanita has seen LEjiT grow from strength to strength, earning recognition in the local index Best of Bloemfontein as having the best breakfast, brunch and lunch menu in the city.
Joanita’s fears that the life of a restaurant owner would overwhelm her has so far been assuaged. Both her most difficult and most enjoyable moments in running LEjiT come from her interactions with people. Dealing with grumpy clients is a challenge, she says, but she also loves the family-like bond that she has built up with her staff and the enjoyment on the faces of her clients.
Having become reality, Joanita’s dream to own a restaurant has been replaced by a vision of what LEjiT can become. While keeping her accounting practice small and exclusive, she is looking into franchising the LEjiT concept to grow the number of branches in Bloemfontein as well as to various coastal towns from where she regularly received enquiries. And, together with her team, she is developing the LEjiT menu into the fine-dining experience that she has always been so passionate about.