Rack ’n Grill food truck owner, RocoMamas resolve ’Smash Burger’ stand-off

Muammer Kasu, the owner of the Rack n Grill in Plein Street in the Cape Town CBD. Picture: Supplied

Muammer Kasu, the owner of the Rack n Grill in Plein Street in the Cape Town CBD. Picture: Supplied

Published Apr 21, 2021

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Cape Town – The stand-off between CBD food truck company Rack ’n Grill and RocoMamas has been resolved.

The Spur Group, which owns RocoMamas, was last week accused of corporate bullying tactics after it ordered chef and food truck owner Muammer Kasu in an email last Wednesday to change the name of his “Smash Burger” as they are the registered proprietor of the “Smash Burger” brand.

After meeting RocoMamas yesterday, Kasu posted on Twitter: ’’We didn’t get the opportunity to say that we met with Rocomama today and have resolved the matter.

’’We have resolved amongst other things to be shared in due course, that I will continue using the name Smash Burger on my menu and advertising.’’

Spur Group spokesperson Moshe Apleni said the RocoMamas management had reached out to Kasu to set up a meeting and find an amicable solution.

Kasu told Voice of the Cape this morning: “The meeting went very well. There is just a couple of finer details that we will confirm with them this morning before putting out a press release. We also explored other ways that we could colab(orate).’’

Kasu told Fin24 on Monday that while he would have been happy to relinquish the product name under better circumstances, the ’’intimidation’’ from RocoMamas – ’’the principle around the fact that they want to bully the small guys’’ – prompted him to stand his ground for small and medium enterprises and informal business.

He told the Cape Times on Sunday he had been overwhelmed by support after local eatery business owners rallied behind him.

“We would never have imagined or envisaged such support from the local industry. It has indeed restored my faith in humanity. This really just goes to show that people in Cape Town can unite,” said Kasu.

“I just decided, enough now. It’s not a new thing for these big corporates coming after small businesses in this way…

’’Our entrepreneurs must be supported. I am willing to do whatever I can to protect small businesses and I may not have the resources to take this on legally, but I will fight as I want to do my part to help our smaller guys who are bullied in this manner.”

On Monday, with the fires raging on Table Mountain, Rack ’n Grill extended a gesture of goodwill to those UCT students forced to evacuate their residences, offering them a free burger and a bottle of water.

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