Losing Ksh50 million in under two hours is not a loss any entrepreneur would wish on their worst enemy.
The Charlie's Bistro owner, Muriithi Muhoro, watched his business go down the drain on August 8, 2018.
The Chief of Operations, Rickie McDermott, recalled that it was just a normal day when their activities were halted and Southend Mall, which housed the business, was brought down by a bulldozer.
In an interview with Business Today, he narrated that it was a very devastating moment for the company as fridges, cookers, expensive utensils, furniture and many other items were reduced to rubble.
“We had no idea that it was going to happen. I can tell you now that we lost over Ksh50 million in just under two hours,” McDermott told the publication.
The demolition was part of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) operation to reclaim riparian land in the city.
“We opened the restaurant like normal, everybody got there in the morning. Then suddenly the power was off, the machines were there, the police were there and everybody was just trying to scramble to get their things.
Two weeks after the incident, Murithii went on to open a new restaurant near City Hall in Nairobi.
McDermott confessed that on the day the hotel opened, they got a lot of clients compared to previous times.
“We opened those doors and within an hour the CBD restaurant was full. I had over 260 orders in the kitchen and we were running an hour and 45 minutes behind on orders,” McDermott concluded.
