The new Botswana store will offer Equatorial Coffee Company coffees, offering cappuccinos, espressos, lattes - and other variations.
"Equatorial Coffee Company coffee is regarded as the premier coffee offering by a growing number of local aficionados," says Turp, adding that Botswana's consumers are becoming more health conscious and increasingly discerning when it comes to the quality of food that they eat. They are also steadily becoming more time conscious.
"We believe that an opportunity exists to cater for these trends by providing a healthier, natural alternative to casual dining. We are positive that Juicy Lucy will be well received. But it is going to take hard work and unparalleled commitment to quality and great service to build the business," he explains.
The new Juicy Lucy has created 22 new jobs. Team members were trained at South African Juicy Lucy stores.
"We wanted to open as soon as possible. The build-up to opening is always nerve-racking but very rewarding when you finally open your doors and see all the team's hard work come together. There is definitely a benefit to opening up in time for summer and before the December holidays," he adds.
Turp has spent most of his career in the restaurant business and has worked with Java Brands' directors for a number of years. He moved to Gaborone in 2000 to manage a network of franchise stores that includes a number of well-known brands and employs over 350 local people.
He says that working in Gaborone has been very rewarding and that the city is the perfect location for Juicy Lucy's first African store. "Gaborone is the capital of Botswana with the largest urban population of almost 250,000. It is the administrative, economic and retail hub of Botswana."
Looking forward, Turp is confident that this Juicy Lucy store will grow and could even pave the way for another to follow shortly. "We are confident that we will meet our targets by early next year as more and more consumers get to know us."
