- Nando's was started by Robert Brozin and Fernando Duarte in South Africa. They worked together at Brozin's father's electronics business, where Fernando was a technical manager, and Brozin was a markeing manager. Fernando was from Porto, Portugal, and his family had emigrated to South Africa.
- In 1987 Fernando took Brozin to a chicken restaurant called Chickenland in Rosettenville, Johannesburg. Brozin 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 R354,000 - around £65,000 at the time. The restaurant was then named after Fernando himself, and his son, who is also called Nando.
- 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 restaurant 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 - but under a different name), 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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