The alarm goes off in the dark. The sun won’t come up for hours, but there’s plenty to do before then. A sigh, a stretch, a shake awake. This is how every night begins for Itumeleng Lekomamyane, Johannesburg’s nocturnal street sandwich king. Not shy of hard work, this entrepreneur is driven by one bottom line: taking care of his young daughter.
After two years of being unemployed, Lekomamyane started to become desperate. With just R800 left in his account and a family to provide for, time and money were running out. So Lekomamyane took a risk, and Sandwich Nton Ntons was born. After noticing the lack of healthy food for early-morning commuters in his city, he began selling sandwiches, muffins, and juice from stalls at taxi ranks, bus stations, and busy street corners.
Lekomamyane now leads a team of four who contribute to his crusade. The hustle is gruelling and repetitive, but the men have a well-oiled system in place. They work from 8pm to 3am preparing food for the day ahead, sell from 4am to 10am, sleep from 1pm to 7pm, and begin again an hour later. But Lekomamyane’s dedication and insight has paid off – his small business now brings in enough to secure his daughter’s wellbeing.
Keeping his ear close to the ground when it comes to receiving and responding to customer feedback, Lekomamyane secures a competitive edge wherever he operates. If he has his way, there’ll come a morning when all South Africans will be able to snap up a sandwich on their way to work, whether they’re below Table Mountain or beside the Indian Ocean. One thing is for sure: Lekomamyane’s daughter has all the reasons in the world to be proud of her dad.
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