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The History Of Nando's A common question about Nando's is how did it begin? There are so many different answers on the Internet that it has become almost mythological, and shrouded in mystery. Did it start in the UK, Portugal, South Africa, or the deepest, darkest peri-peri heartlands of Mozambique? Well the Rate YOUR Nando's Team is here to clear things up. Not only do we summarise the origins of Nando's for you, but we provide a handy list for further reading. Fantastic if you ask us! If you agree, spread the word by recommending this page on Facebook: Do you know something we don't? Contact us to let us know or fill in the form at the bottom of this page. Sum it up for me please: | - In 1987 Fernando Duarte took his friend Robert Brozin to a chicken restaurant called Chickenland in Rosettenville, Johannesburg. Fernando Duarte was an audio technician from Porto, Portugal, whose family had emigrated to South Africa.
- Brozin (a South African) was so impressed with the restaurant's flame grilled chicken that he proposed the pair of them bought the restaurant.
- Against the odds, they actually did it! The original purchase was made at R80,000 - around £50,000 at the time.
- Early on Nando's adopted its mantra of not being just about the chicken, but chicken embodying the five core values of pride, passion, courage, integrity and family.
- But alas! In its early years, Nando's wasn't the success story it is today, but it actually struggled to get started in some countries; specifically the UK, where the franchise rights were bought by the Enthoven family in 1992! The first UK branch opened shortly after in Ealing, West London.
- In 1995 the son Robby Enthoven (who is still the Managing Director of UK Nando's to this day), took on the struggling restaurants in Ealing Common and Earl's Court, and came up with the order at the till, sit down and wait for your food philosophy.
- Such a revolutionary idea this was! The public loved it (not to mention the chicken), and has never looked back.
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Nando's Historical Progress in the UK: | | Branches | 2 | 10 | 50 | 100 | 200 | 300 | 500 | | Year | 1992 | 1998 | 2002 | 2005 | 2008 | ?? | ?? |
Nando's Historical Progress Internationally (can you help us fill in the gaps?): | | 2012 | 1,000th store Worldwide opening in the near future! Check out our International Map for details on how many Nando's are in each country. | | 1997 | 71 branches in South Africa, 46 internationally. | | 1995 | 45 branches in South Africa, 17 additional across Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland, United Kingdom (4 branches), Mauritius, Canada, Israel and Australia. | | 1990 | 3 branches in South Africa, 1 branch in Fernando's homeland of Portugal. | | 1987 | 1 branch in Rosettenville, Johannesburg |
Why are there no Nando's in some places? | | Israel & Portugal | I just said there were Nando's in Israel and Portugal right? Well we know that Israel closed its last branch in 2004. We have no idea what happened in Portugal! Anyone with information on either please get in contact because we would love to know more. There is a Facebook group campaigning for Nando's in Israel to reopen. Find it here. | | Ghana | There are numerous reports online of Nando's in Ghana, but we know it has sadly closed its doors now. Did anyone go to the branch in Accra? We would love to hear more below. Read more here. | | Indonesia | When Nando's was beginning its expansion to South-East Asia it originally targetted three countries: Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. The spicy chicken is now thriving in the first two, but what happened to Indonesia? We know there are no branches nowadays but would love to hear if anyone visited before it closed. We know there was one in Bali. Find details here. | | USA | We realise there are (a few) Nando's in the USA now, but nowhere near as many as you might expect! Well in the early days Nando's lacked the resources to have a big impact there. Now all that has changed and expansion can commence. | | Latin America | The language barrier was a big issue for Nando's in the early years, but they always thought they would enter that market after conquering the USA. Watch this space! | | Mainland Europe | In the early days Mainland Europe was perceived to be a mature (and therefore expensive) market to operate in, which also came with lots of 'red tape'. Language barriers are also an issue, but Nando's have always considered starting branches in mainland Europe with London as a base. |
What makes Nando's open in a particular country? | - The population must be a big fan of chicken (duh!).
- Consumers must also like spicy food (can we be anymore obvious here?!).
- The Nando's experience must fit in well with the country's lifestyle (it's hard to believe, but in some places people just wouldn't adjust to the Nando's way of life).
- The country must have a significant English-speaking populace (this was important in the early days but is likely to change in the future).
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