title: Spur Steak Ranches
text: Spur Corporation (doing business as Spur Steak Ranches) () is a steakhouse franchise restaurant chain originating from South Africa with a focus on family dining. The head office of Spur Corporation is situated in Century City, Cape Town. Although the founding and flagship brand is the Spur steakhouse restaurants, the company owns a number of other, predominantly South African, restaurant brands. Spur Steak Ranches is a themed South African family favourite and is fondly known as "the official restaurant of the South African family"; as such, most Spur restaurants include a children's play area.
  
  History and growth 
  
  In 1967 founder and executive chairman, Allen Ambor, opened the Golden Spur on Dean Street in Newlands, Cape Town in South Africa. Ambor started the first restaurant with R2,000 of his own money, R4,000 from his father and an additional R5,000 from a partner who was eventually bought out; amounting to a total starting capital of R11,000. The restaurant was opened on the 24 October 1967. The original restaurant moved to a new location at the corner of Dean and Main Road in the 2000s and closed in 2020.
  
  A second Spur, the Seven Spur, was opened in Sea Point, Cape Town soon after the 1967 opening. After the success of the second Spur Ambor decided on a franchise model to facilitate the spread of the restaurants across the country.
  
  The Spur Group consists of Spur International, Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis Pizza Pasta, John Dory’s Fish Grill Sushi, Captain Dorego's, The Hussar Grill, RocoMamas, Spur Grill & Go, Nikos Coalgrill Greek and Casa Bella. It currently has 569 outlets worldwide, with restaurants in various parts of Africa, Mauritius, the Middle East and Australasia. In March 2018, Spur Corporation sold Captain Dorego's.
  
  Operations
  Spur Steak Ranches is a subsidiary of Spur Corporation, one of the largest restaurant companies in South Africa.
  
  It has its headquarters in Century City, Cape Town, with regional offices in Johannesburg and Durban as well as an international office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, supporting the company’s international operations.
  
  Spur Steak Ranches’ contribution to Spur Corporation’s restaurant turnover is 61%.
  
  Restaurants are owned by franchisees or directly by the company. As of 31 December 2018, Spur Steak Ranches had 323 stores located in 15 countries. The total restaurants in South Africa is 284 with 39 in other countries.
  
  Africa and Mauritius
   Botswana
   Eswatini
   Ethiopia
   Kenya
   Lesotho
   Malawi
   Namibia
   Nigeria
  
   South Africa
  
   Tanzania
   Uganda
   Zambia
   Mauritius
  
  Australasia
   Australia
   New Zealand
  In 2020, the chain was forced to temporarily close all of restaurants amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  Products
  Spur Steak Ranches’ core product offering consists of steaks, ribs and burgers. In addition to these, the brand also sells chicken, schnitzels, seafood, wraps, sandwiches, salads, desserts, breakfasts and a dedicated children’s menu. The burgers have four options: beef, chicken, soya and rib. Furthermore, there are many plant based options available including the Beyond Burger.
  
  Spur Steak Ranches also sells food to takeaway, delivering in some locations.
  
  Procurement, manufacturing and distribution 
  Spur Steak Ranches operates a sauce manufacturing facility that supplies franchisees with the brand’s sauces. Its sauces and marinades are also retailed in major South African retailers, along with certain products, which are externally manufactured under licence, such as frozen ribs and burger patties.
  
  Panarottis Pizza Pasta 
  The company also owns the Panarottis pizza and pasta restaurant chain. This chain was started in 1990 and has 84 outlets. In addition, the Spur Group purchased a 60% shareholding in John Dory’s Fish and Grill in 2004. John Dory's is a KwaZulu-Natal-based franchise with 54 outlets.
  
  Controversies
  
  2017 racist incident 
  In March 2017, a racially charged incident occurred between two customers in a South African Spur Steak Ranch restaurant when a black African family got into an expletive-filled argument with a white Afrikaner family, after the black child reportedly hit the white child. The restaurant banned the white family, but not the black family. White Afrikaners criticised and ultimately boycotted the restaurant, which was staffed by black Africans, for siding with the black family, as well as for not doing more to break up the fight. The restaurant chain also received criticism for its slow official response, which was judged inadequate.
  
  Native American logo
  The logo of the restaurant is a Native American man wearing a war bonnet. The decor of the restaurant uses tipis, totem poles, and tomahawks. Pierre Van Tonder, the chief executive of the Spur Corporation, has claimed that the theme is a show of respect for Native Americans, referring to Native Americans as "a tribe that embodies all that is noble and lives in harmony with the land and the universe." While the restaurant is popular among South Africans, the use of Native American stereotypes is considered racist by many Native Americans. Johnnie Jae (Otoe–Missouria / Choctaw), a board member of Not Your Mascots, has described the restaurant's logo as a "dehumanizing caricature of Native men" that "represents the colonial mindset that our imagery, identities, culture, and spirituality as Native people can be redefined, exploited, misappropriated and commercialized..."
  
  See also
  
  References
  
  External links
  Official website
  Spur Corporation
  
  Restaurants established in 1967
  Companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange
  Food and drink companies based in Cape Town
  Restaurant franchises
  Restaurant chains in South Africa
  Steakhouses
  1967 establishments in South Africa
  Restaurants in South Africa
  Newlands, Cape Town
  Native American cultural appropriation
  Stereotypes of Native American people