Dros Willowbridge

The Drostdy is a well-known landmark, not only in Stellenbosch but throughout the whole of South Africa. In April 1996 an enormous change took place at the Dros with the formation of the ‘Dros Concept’, a combination between a wine cellar and a restaurant. The founder and owner, Mr Hein Krugmann, want to present the public with a truly South African concept accessible to all ages and tastes. This concept proved successful as many people from all over the country, as well as overseas visitors, frequented the Dros. This in turn led to the franchising of this unique restaurant.

The concept behind the design is to combine Stellenbosch wine cellars with food and a warm ambience using décor unique to the Cape Wine Route, complete with wine cellar characteristics, to create an atmosphere typical to that of a wine cellar. The highly competitive tourist market in the Cape requires food of outstanding quality and excellent service, both of which are major priorities at the Dros.

Few companies in the food industry can match the record growth and profitability shown by the Dros since inception. During the past few years the Dros Restaurants gross sales have expanded significantly and net income has doubled. These high growth rates are expected to continue into the future. The Dros individual store volume is projected to be between R500 000 to R1 500 000 per month. At present the Dros is expanding rapidly countrywide, particularly in the Gauteng area.

After 20 years of experience in the food and hospitality industry, the Dros Management Team fully understands the precise requirements needed for the daily functioning of the franchise. As part of the company’s quest to progress, the Dross continuously seeks new ways for improvement by testing new items and constantly improving quality and service. This assures a steady rise in profits annually. New menu items, new methods of preparation, improvement in equipment and new technology are all put through strenuous testing before the end product reaches the customer. Conversely, an item performing well or receiving favorable reviews will be released to all the Franchisees.