How Rita Zwane’s Busy Corner Shisanyama Turned a Corner Stall into a Cultural Institution
How Rita Zwane’s Busy Corner Shisanyama Turned a Corner Stall into a Cultural Institution. Rita Zwane, also known as MaZwane, began her entrepreneurial journey in 1997. Formerly a secretary, she started Imbizo Shisanyama – affectionately called Busy Corner – in Ivory Park, Tembisa, with R5,000 from her provident fund.
Her startup tools were simple: a pot, a gas griller, a display fridge, a gas-paraffin stove, and two employees. From that dusty roadside corner, she had a vision: shisanyama done with style, class, and dignity, matching standards one would expect in upmarket eateries. She wanted not just food, but an experience combining culture, cleanliness, and safety.
Milestones that Marked Her Ascent
- 1997 – Founding: She started small, learned the ropes, served pap and vleis (pap and meat), managed everything from cooking to serving herself.
- Early 2000s – Expanding reputation: As locals frequented the place and word spread, the reputation of Busy Corner grew. She began drawing in customers outside her immediate area.
- 2012 – Bursary Programme: She launched the Busy Corner Imbizo Shisanyama Bursary Programme, giving young people in the community opportunities in hospitality and food services.
- 2017 – Best Shisanyama Award: Busy Corner won “Best Shisanyama in South Africa” in a competition by Windhoek, giving national recognition.
- Multiple Outlets and Expansion: She expanded into multiple branches, including Busy Corner in Midrand/Mall of Thembisa.
- 2020-2023 – Thembisa Branch and Later Closure/Reopening: The Mall of Thembisa branch opened Nov 2020, but faced headwinds with Covid restrictions, load-shedding, reduced consumer buying power and infrastructure challenges, leading to closure in 2023. Then, in September 2024 the same outlet was reopened.
- 2024 – Lifetime Achievement Award: Recognized with a lifetime achievement at the Township Economy Awards in Tembisa, honoring her resilience and contributions.
Key Strategies and Strengths
Rooted in Culture & Authenticity
Rita Zwane always emphasised the experience of African heritage. From the food, ambience, music and service she wanted Busy Corner to reflect dignity. That authenticity resonated with township locals and visitors.
Quality, Cleanliness and Safety
While many township eateries were informal and seen as lacking in standard, MaZwane made sure Busy Corner was clean, safe, and well managed. She insisted on high standards from early on, even when starting with limited resources. That consistency built trust.
Community Engagement & Local Ecosystem
Busy Corner has not just sold food. It created jobs, outsourced services locally (cleaning, security, small stalls, car wash), supported local youth through bursaries, mentored, and invested in properties.
Her business also tapped into the “township economy” narrative: being present, visible, rooted in locality, and turning local patronage into power.
Risk Taking & Smart Expansion
When opening the Thembisa branch in Mall of Thembisa she took a big leap into retail space value chain. That branch represented her moving from street corner to high-traffic commercial centre. But the timing was tricky (just before Covid wave, etc.). When the branch became unsustainable, she closed it to protect the business and later reopened.
She also diversified investments into property and held a holding company (Mgobane Investments Group) to manage growth.
Challenges Overcome
- Limited startup capital: Starting with only R5,000 and basic tools, she had to manage tight margins and costs.
- Access to funding and institutional support: Banks and investors took time to understand her business model. She used savings and reinvested profits.
- Stigmas around township businesses: The perception that township eateries are substandard was a barrier she explicitly set out to change.
- External pressures: Covid restrictions, load-shedding, declining consumer spending, infrastructure problems (roads, service delivery) all caused hardships especially for her Thembisa branch.
- Scaling with consistency: Maintaining quality and customer experience while expanding was difficult. She had to ensure staff were trained, that ambience and service did not slip.
Lessons for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
- Start with vision + authenticity
Know deeply what your business stands for, culture, experience, heritage. That clarity becomes your compass when scaling and making difficult decisions. - Be resilient and ready to adapt
Times will test you. Be prepared to close branches, pause, retrench, or change model rather than bankrupting the whole brand. - Engage your community
Use local talent, involve local suppliers, support youth. When the community supports you, the business gains loyalty, credibility and wind in the sails. - Maintain high standards from day one
Cleanliness, safety, quality of service – these are non-negotiable. First impressions matter, repeat business depends on trust. - Diversify and plan for sustainability
Expansion through property, creating a holding company, moving into retail spaces, all of these help reduce risk. Create multiple income streams or assets. - Use recognition and awards strategically
Winning “best shisanyama”, earning awards, airing your story, writing books, all help with visibility, trust, and opening new markets. - Know when to take risk and when to protect the business
Thembisa branch showed both ambition and prudent decision taking, opened to expand, but when it became unsustainable, she made the hard choice to close and later reopen when possible.
Conclusion
Mam Rita Zwane’s journey from a container and a single pot to building Busy Corner Imbizo Shisanyama into a beloved African institution illustrates how passion, culture, and consistent service can create lasting success. It is a story of heart, humility, and hustle.
For entrepreneurs, her path teaches that you don’t need perfect conditions to begin. What you need is vision, resilience, community connection, and an unflinching commitment to quality. Her legacy is proof that building something meaningful also means building something that can enrich many lives.
