No black out for Café Bacini of Eastgate Shopping Centre
Café Bacini’s is Africa's very own taste of Italy and it opened its kitchen to you and your family in September 2006. The journey began in Mama Amelia’s Italian kitchen where she created mouth-watering meals for her beloved family and friends. But in 1946, the circumstances in a war-torn Italy became very difficult for the Moretti family, so they set off for South Africa in search of a better future. Word of Amelia’s delicious cooking spread like wild fire and the family’s meal times turned into a bustling celebration with the entire community. Mama Amelia soon realized that the perfect recipe was not only made up of the finest ingredients, but was held together by her love for her family, friends and their Italian heritage. It was here, in South Africa that the Moretti family saw an opportunity to turn their celebration of Italian cuisine into a profitable business venture.
From this burst of passion, Café Bacini was born…Not even the recent three-day power failure that affected the Bedfordview area could keep Café Bacini’s in Eastgate Shopping Centre from operating and maintaining excellent customer service and satisfaction. Owner Alexi Karafilakis saw the opportunity to live up to loyal customer expectations and thought of innovative ways to meet customer needs. Generators, which consumed one-and-a-half thousand liters of diesel, could only convey 50% of the necessary power therefore the wood-burning pizza oven was used for baking a variety of breads as well as desserts to meet customer demands. “We would always make a plan to meet customer needs. Everyday we would receive fresh produce from suppliers, bulks of ice for drinks and even used the espresso machine to make filter coffees of which 6000 cups were sold in three days” Alexi stated.
Customers from all over Bedfordview came in for take-away as well as breakfast, lunch and supper. Alexi believes that he couldn’t have done it without his dedicated staff that is just as determined as he is. “Nothing is too much for the customer, we live by the customer. Even though our power and resources were limited, we still found it in our capacity to store a local pensioner’s perishables which she could not afford to spoil”, Alexi says.
Café Bacini’s has a full-house bakery that bakes a wide selection of breads and desserts and is the only restaurant in the country to offer full-time bottomless coffees, fruit juices and soft drinks. Designer sandwiches are popular whereby customers put together their own sandwiches by choosing from a variety of breads and scrumptious fillings. The restaurant caters for just having a coffee and cake to a full three-course-meal. Talk Radio 702 had many pleased Café Bacini’s customers phoning in thanking Café Bacini’s for their impeccable performance despite the crisis.
Café Bacini’s would like to thank all new customers for their support and for making their efforts worthwhile! Special thanks to the dedicated staff whose loyalty is much appreciated despite different shifts and working hours. Café Bacini’s would like to express gratitude and thanks to their customers for the their loyal support and understanding as well as to Eastgate Shopping Centre Management. Plans are being implemented to for any sort of crisis that might arise in the near future.
No matter what the situation, Café Bacini’s will always be there for you!
