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CHAPTER 2

Out of the blocks

If there is just one thing for which many a child and adult in South Africa would laud George Halamandres, it would be for the fact that he introduced soft-serve ice-cream to the country. According to his nephew Peter Caradas, George was very impressed with a cousin’s ice-cream parlour on Coney Island in southern Brooklyn, New York, which inspired George to open the first Milky Lane in 1958, in Esselen Street in Hillbrow.

“He was the first to introduce the soft-serve machines to South Africa – and later he would be the first to bring in the broiler (or grid for grilling steaks and patties) too,” says Peter.

George established the business in partnership with his brother-in-law, Chris Poulos. Young Georgie, his cousin Arthur Balaskas and Chris were the active partners, while George was a silent partner.

Peter, who helped out as a waiter, remembers that George designed the circular seating for the restaurant, and also the tables against the back wall. “At that stage nobody in South Africa had even heard of soft-serve,” says John Halamandres. “People thought they were crazy, especially because they secured the premises during winter – how could they sell ice-cream only?”

John was told that their takings on the first day were dismal, but even so, they built Milky Lane up to become very successful. Barbara Halamandres, who was a schoolgirl of 16 at the time and had just met her future husband, Georgie, says a big parfait (an ice-cream layered with fruit) called Awful Awful was the most famous product. “Awful Big, Awful Good was the pay-off line,” she recalls.

Two years later, political turmoil sparked by the Sharpeville uprising on March 21, 1960, caused Chris to consider emigrating to Spain. The partners put Milky Lane up for sale and soon sold it to Alfonso Calbacho, a Spaniard who had just immigrated to South Africa. The company was eventually sold to Juicy Lucy SA in 1986 after Alfonso passed away. Later, it found its way back into the Famous Brands empire.

At that time, George came up with the idea of combining steak and icecream, as America had taught him the importance of specialisation. The stage was set for the first steakhouse on South African soil to open.

“This is where the Steers story really starts,” says John. He recalls that his father used to say, “South Africans will stop eating beef when the Chinese stop eating rice.”

George opened the Golden Spur on Baker Square in Rosebank, Johannes­burg, just after South Africa became a republic on 31 May 1961.

He didn’t want to be involved in the daily running of the restaurant, but felt that Georgie and Arthur were still too young to manage it on their own. He asked Nick Vladislavi´c, a Yugoslav whom he had met in boxing circles, to become their partner. Nick owned 50 per cent and Georgie and Arthur 25 per cent each.

George created the classic recipes that are still recognisable today, including the barbeque sauce, the Spanish dressing and the Cheese Whizz. Peter says that even though Famous Brands probably uses different recipes today, the basis of the recipes come from George. Again George had designed all the seating, and draughtsman Teddy Hollander put his plans to paper. “George was the brain behind the whole system,” says Peter.

“My father was one for coming up with ideas, and he financed them,” says John. “He never really gave instructions, but he made great comments. He let you have his wisdom all the time, and in later years I learnt a lot from him.”

While the restaurant was being built, the owner of the nearby Odeon Café asked George what he was building, recalls Peter. A steakhouse, George answered. When the Odeon owner wanted to know what he was going to sell, George replied: “T-bone, rump, fillet, kebabs and burgers, and icecreams, including Chico the Clown for children – an upside down cone with a face.”

“I sell steaks; you aren’t going to be making too much money,” replied the other man.

Well, it seems the Odeon had underestimated its new neighbour, as people were queueing around the corner for those particular steaks. The Golden Spur was a phenomenal success. “I think it paid for itself within six months,” says Peter.

After a year, the success spurred George into expanding. “I don’t know why he didn’t stick to the name Spur, but he called the restaurant in Highlands North ‘Seven Steer’,” says John. George always stuck to the American names and systems he got to know during his stay in that country, as well as the term “steak ranch” and cowboy imagery.

George took a share in the new establishment and gave a share each to Georgie and Arthur. His wife, Poppy, and sister-in-law, Lulu, each got a small share as well. Lulu was a strong woman and she started running the kitchen and overseeing the manufacturing of the sauces. She and Poppy also made the salads.

“My mother did a lot in the business and worked extremely hard in the kitchen,” says John. “But her poor hearing, a hereditary problem, was a serious impediment and she never wanted to wear a hearing aid like I have to, so she was mainly in the background.”

He says it means that she internalised her feelings a lot. She became a follower of Jiddu Krishnamurti, an Indian writer on spiritual affairs whose philosophy was passive observance.

“I was 10 years old when Seven Steer opened and you can say that is when I started my ‘illustrious career’,” jokes John, who was to become the managing director of Steers Holdings. “I was the chief soda jerk, which meant I served all the sodas, the double-thick milkshakes and all the soft-serves.”

This first job set the tone for the remainder of John’s school years. He never participated in sport as he was working at a restaurant every Saturday and Sunday. He says he often worked on Thursday evenings too, when it was “Nanny’s night off”.

On Mondays, when the steakhouses were closed, friends and family would converge at the family home at 30 De La Rey Street. Catherine Dreyer, who John knew as “Nanny”, and who cooked delicious Greek food, would prepare a 10-course meal, and everybody would swim and play tennis and eat from huge platters that were placed on the trampoline.

Those idyllic days held such appeal that John started to play truant so as not to miss out. “I often got a ‘migraine’ on a Monday so that I could stay at home from school and share in the fun. My friends used to tease me, as I probably missed at least two Mondays a month.”

Like the Golden Spur, Seven Steer was a great success. Sometimes it got so busy that they had to serve people at the little table at the entrance where the salt and pepper pots were kept.

Back in those days the only available entertainment was to visit a restaurant and to go to the movies, recalls John. “On a Saturday evening, we had a long pre-movie queue between 6pm and 8pm and another rush time after the movies between 10pm and midnight, when people came back for coffee and dessert. We often only left at 2am, after we had cleaned up and prepared for the Sunday lunch crowd, which would start pouring in from 11 or 12 the next day.”

Because of the success of the restaurant, additional staff had to be appointed. George senior invited Fortis Ntinias, and his wife, Chrisoula, to come to South Africa from Lemnos to work at Seven Steer. Barbara Halamandres worked behind the counter, as she had done at Golden Spur.

The names of three more men who were helping at Seven Steer at the time will appear later in the tale: these were waiters Allen Ambor, Max Rivkind and Stanley Adelson. Next time round though, they won’t be wearing aprons or carrying order notebooks.

Stanley worked as a casual waiter from the age of 17, and Allen moonlighted while studying for an arts degree at the University of the Witwaters­rand. “They were surprised when I said I had never worked in a restaurant before, as I took to it like a duck to water,” says Allen.

Max’s family lived across the road from the Balfour Park Shopping Centre on the corner of Athol and Johannesburg Roads where the Seven Steer was situated. He was studying to become a chartered accountant, also at Wits, and like the other two he became friendly with Arthur, Georgie and Peter. He was asked whether he would like to become a waiter, “and even if I have to say so myself, I was the best waiter they had”. He says he became very close to the Halamandres and Balaskas families and even spent Christmas with them.

In 1973 George opened a third restaurant, the Black Steer, in Yeoville. This was the start of what would become the Black Steer chain. His partner was his nephew Peter Caradas.

Peter remembers ridiculously long queues at the restaurant. “Nevertheless, people waited patiently,” he says. “Arthur, Georgie and I were first-class waiters. We could clear a table in a flash; diners would be in-and-out of there in 20 minutes. Because we worked at night, we played golf during the day. We got up to the usual naughtiness, and took the girls to the Greek Taverna in town,” he remembers. “But the three of us made the Black Steer what it was.”

“Black Steer became a landmark,” says John. “It was right across the road from my high school, King Edward VII, and I ran over to have lunch there every day. I’m not so sure it should have been allowed, but I also ended up giving my teachers meal vouchers as Christmas presents.” A rump fillet cost 7/6 (75c) and a burger and chips 2/6 (25c).

To George’s delight all three of his ventures were extremely successful. But he realised that, given the significant capital requirement, he couldn’t maintain ownership of each restaurant. It was time for yet another first, and it would be this one that would really cement his legacy in the South African business landscape.