This archive report was first published on 19 June 2020.
Wolfgat, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in South Africa, has been counting its losses since the coronavirus pandemic arrived in the country.
Located in the remote beach town of Paternoster, a two-hour-drive from Cape Town, Wolfgat was named the top restaurant at the inaugural 2019 World Restaurant Awards in Paris.
However, the restaurant's success was short-lived, as the pandemic led to a nationwide lockdown on March 27, forcing Wolfgat to shut its doors to diners.
"It was quite a roller-coaster ride. Everything happened very quickly and drastically," said Kobus van der Merwe, chef and owner of Wolfgat.
Under normal circumstances, Wolfgat can serve a maximum of 20 sitting guests, specialising in dishes made from foraged ingredients such as seaweed, beach succulents and wild coastal berries.
But the pressure of the lockdown has weighed heavily on the restaurant, which has been forced to adapt to a new reality of takeaways and delivery.
"Even before South Africa went into lockdown, a lot of our international guests had to cancel because of the situation in their country already being much worse. It’s been way more than just the lockdown period," said van der Merwe.
Despite the challenges, Wolfgat has been trying to stay afloat by producing immersive boxes with assortments of snacks for delivery to customers in distant Cape Town.
However, this has been difficult logistically and the returns have been lower, with the restaurant charging half its regular price.
"We wanted to do everything in our power to try and just survive this time with big financial losses and no future income," said van der Merwe.
On the plus side, a lucrative season last year after being named top restaurant helped cushion the business for the shock that lay ahead.
"That gave us quite a strong sort of base," he said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced that restaurants will soon be able to have sit-down customers, albeit with physical distance restrictions.
"We're very excited about the fact that we will be allowed to welcome guests," said van der Merwe. "But we realise it’s not going to be any kind of normal situation."
