Business

The man who left Spur to create a restaurant empire in South Africa

Kirsten Minnaar • 15 November 2025

Douw Krugmann founded a small fish restaurant at the V&A Waterfront in 1997, which he built up into a restaurant empire alongside his family.

Today, it forms part of a group that owns restaurants across South Africa, operating under three popular brands – Cape Town Fish Market, Kapstadt Brauhaus, and Happy Folks.

After operating a Spur Steak Ranch for 13 years, Krugmann decided to buy his own small fresh fish restaurant in Cape Town’s famous V&A Waterfront in 1997.

The small restaurant also sold fresh seafood for customers to take home, and after experiencing how much better fresh fish tasted compared to the frozen variety most other restaurants served, the idea for Cape Town Fish Market (CTFM) was born.

The menu was created from scratch by Krugmann himself, and brought together the best of both South African and Japanese cuisine – from fish & chips to classic sashimi.

His sons, Douw Jr. and Emil, have been involved in building the menu ever since, as have his wife and daughter, who were also involved in the family business at the Fat Fish deli, located next door to the CTFM in the V&A Waterfront.

Eventually, the West Coast Group was founded. Under this group, CTFM has been able to expand, with seven restaurants operating across South Africa today.

Throughout the years, the brand continued to update its food offering, as well as the design of its stores. For example, in 2016, the GrandWest store underwent a dramatic revitalisation.

“Cape Town Fish Market wanted to harness elements of Cape Town’s natural surrounds and capture the essence of the sea while telling a story of times gone by,” said Elouise Matthys, the PR and promotions manager at GrandWest.

“The new interior is crisp, contemporary, while remaining true to Cape Town Fish Market’s laidback and friendly spirit.”

“Customers will certainly get a sense that they are close to the ocean, and with this comes the promise of the freshest fish and seafood.”

New brands

Under the West Coast Group, new brands were also added to the business’s portfolio. These include Kapstadt Brauhaus, which was founded in 2018, and Happy Folks, which was established in 2022.

Kapstadt Brauhaus offers a German-inspired menu featuring classic comfort dishes, such as schnitzels, pretzels, and sausages. Currently, Brauhaus has eight restaurants in the Western Cape and two in Pretoria.

The restaurant regularly hosts events such as Oktoberfest, musical performances, and rugby watch days.

Happy Folks is inspired by nostalgia and features vivid colours and games, such as darts. There are two Happy Folks restaurants in the Western Cape, with another location in Brackenfell set to open soon.

Its menu is comprised of items like pizza, burgers, tacos and sushi. Drink specials are also regularly offered at Happy Folks restaurants.

The West Coast group is actively looking for opportunities to expand its footprint. Recently, it expressed that it was looking for a passionate entrepreneur to bring CTFM to Nelspruit.

This year, it also shared that it was looking for a franchisee to open Happy Folks restaurants in both Silver Lakes, Pretoria, Nelspruit and Centurion.