Keep the bus MOVING

This is an extremely difficult time as I am alone in the kitchen without a team and really battling to find a balance. What normally takes an hour is taking me several as I have to do the cooking, prepping and admin.” For now, her customised 1978 Bedford bus, a street food icon, is parked, and Adams is struggling to keep her broader upmarket catering and food consulting company – which provides everything from burgers to fine dining and consults to restaurants – alive.

It is the toughest environment the sector has ever encountered. “I have always considered myself flexible and adaptable ... but the future of my industry is uncertain. This is scary. Things are unpredictable. My passionate side believes I will continue to roll with the punches, persevere and create innovative solutions. I will try and find the gaps in the market to utilise my skill set,” she says.

Her business was gearing up for major sporting and lifestyle events and looking forward to the likes of the Durban Vodacom July.

Nadia Adams’ signature, big orange bus is standing still, but the plucky entrepreneur and owner of Fudart certainly isn’t

Stock had been purchased, decor and crockery ordered. Suppliers, who feared contamination, could not take stock back.

“We were forced to sell the stock at cost or give it away to charity. It created a huge strain.”

Adams has made costly adjustments to operate within the law. She created

“My passionate side believes I will continue to roll with the punches, persevere and create innovative solutions.” – Nadia Adams, owner of Fudart

a new product offering, including smaller platters for lockdown celebrations, food delivery, and even food solutions for essential workers in the healthcare and construction sectors.

But take-away food solutions come at a cost, including additional labour, chemicals, travel and delivery. In some cases, the packaging cost more than the meal. “It’s difficult to explain that to customers.” *