I wanted everything to be very different, very unique, very original.
There’s something different about Saw_cy. Maybe it’s the sauces. Maybe it’s the unmistakable presence of its food on social media. Or maybe it’s the fact that you don’t have to leave the hood to experience something that feels fresh, ambitious and completely its own.
Founded with a simple idea—to elevate kasi cuisine—Saw_cy has grown from a sauce-focused concept into a food brand with a personality of its own. At the centre of it all is flavour. The founder started by making sauces designed to stand apart, eventually building those same sauces into a menu that refuses to feel predictable.
The result is food that feels familiar but isn’t afraid to push boundaries.
One of the clearest examples is the brand’s signature dino beef ribs. It’s a dish that immediately grabs attention, but for the founder, its significance goes deeper than its size or visual appeal. Developing it took plenty of trial and error, and discovering that it could become something people genuinely loved was part of the journey.
“I didn’t know I could push like that,” the founder explains. “I didn’t know I could come up with something that people love so much.”
I didn’t want to put it in a mall because I feel like it’s going to take away the kasi in it.
That sense of discovery is part of what makes Saw_cy interesting. The menu isn’t simply about
reproducing what already exists. There’s an obvious desire to experiment, to create dishes that
feel original, and to find combinations that customers might not have encountered before.
But perhaps just as important as what’s being served is where it’s being served.
Rather than choosing a shopping mall or a conventional commercial space, Saw_cy operates
from a residential area. The decision was intentional. For the founder, moving into a mall would
risk taking away something essential from the brand—the kasi character that gives it its identity.
Here, the atmosphere is more relaxed and familiar. Neighbours become customers. Customers
can take their time. The experience feels closer to visiting someone in the hood than rushing
through another mall food stop.
“I just wanted to make it very homey, very lovely, and very relaxed,” the founder says.
That environment speaks to a bigger idea behind Saw_cy: growth doesn’t necessarily have to
mean leaving the spaces that created you.
I hope to see it in all the hoods in South Africa.
The ambition is to take the brand further while keeping that connection intact. The founder
envisions Saw_cy appearing across different hoods, first expanding around Johannesburg and
eventually reaching kasi communities throughout South Africa.
There are already conversations happening beyond Soweto, with another location expected to
emerge soon. The details remain under wraps for now, but the direction is clear.
Saw_cy wants to be in the hood—and stay in the hood.
For a food brand built around originality, flavour and community, that might be the most
important ingredient of all.
