{"id":857350,"date":"2026-04-25T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=857350"},"modified":"2026-04-24T16:27:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T14:27:45","slug":"the-car-dealership-rolling-out-restaurants-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/857350\/the-car-dealership-rolling-out-restaurants-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"The car dealership rolling out restaurants in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Freeway Toyota in Johannesburg has rolled out a fully integrated caf\u00e9 at its dealership as part of a broader vision to enhance the branch experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The caf\u00e9 is not intended to be exclusive to our dealership. It is part of a broader vision to enhance the dealership experience,” Freeway Group CEO Imtiaz Laher told BusinessTech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If successful, it could absolutely be rolled out or adapted by other dealerships in the future.” YML Eatery, located within the Freeway Toyota Dealership, opened its doors in 2024, aimed at bringing people together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Family is at the heart of everything we do. Our recipes have been passed down through generations, ensuring that every dish we serve is infused with love and tradition,” said the eatery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YML Eatery said they strive to source ingredients ethically and locally when possible, and to “create dishes that are not only delicious but also nourishing for both body and soul.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laher said the caf\u00e9 is fully integrated into the dealership environment, forming part of the overall customer journey rather than being a separate standalone site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“While it enhances the experience for our customers, it\u2019s designed to attract anyone looking for a quality caf\u00e9 experience in the area and is open to the public.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the concept for the restaurant was built around redefining the traditional dealership model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Rather than a purely transactional space, we are creating a lifestyle environment where customers can spend time comfortably,” he told BusinessTech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The caf\u00e9 plays a key role in this, offering a premium, welcoming space that aligns with Toyota\u2019s focus on customer experience, innovation, and hospitality.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The caf\u00e9 was introduced as part of Toyota’s transformation initiative to modernise the dealership and “elevate customer engagement.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YML Eatery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The caf\u00e9 is fully Halal, offering a curated menu for celebrations such as an Eid lunch and dinner, with pear salad and various curries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We believe that the magic is in the details. From the artfully plated dishes to the meticulously chosen finishes in our dining room, every element is thoughtfully curated to create an atmosphere that is both inviting and memorable,” said YML Eatery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The caf\u00e9 is named after Yusuf Mohammed Laher to honour his legacy. YML Eatery is said to embody “his joy, unwavering kindness, and love for exceptional food.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our mission is simple yet profound: to unite people through the pleasure of dining, creating moments to cherish with every bite and experiences to treasure forever,” the Eatery said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YML Eatery serves a variety of halaal dishes, including seafood, familiar \u201ccomfort\u201d meals, healthy varieties, burgers, gatsbys, toasties, and curries, \u201ceach dish crafted with care and creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The caf\u00e9 also cooks platters curated for certain religious events such as Ramadhaan. Ramadhaan platters range from R320 for four people to R640 for six people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These platters include a variety of food items, including, for example, Chicken Springrolls, Beef Springrolls, Chicken Pies, Beef Pies, Potato Vetkoeks, Chicken Sliders, and Butter Chicken Pitas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from its curated menus, YML Eatery serves a croissant French toast for R149, Korean chicken wings for R149, herb butter steak for R369, and butter chicken curry for R149.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also various pastas, such as tandoori chicken mayo pasta for R139, masala steak pasta for R179, and YML gourmet pasta for R199.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YML Eatery also sells a variety of prawns, including 24 Queen prawns for R829, and six Prince prawns for R149.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drink options vary from smoothies and fresh juices, to bubble tea, matcha, crushers, milkshakes and mocktails, all under R100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children under 12 years old are provided with a “kiddies menu” featuring food items priced under R100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Photos of YML Eatery inside Freeway Toyota<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Freeway Toyota in Johannesburg has rolled out a fully integrated caf\u00e9 at its dealership as part of a broader vision to enhance the branch experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":857606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[25225,25226],"class_list":["post-857350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-freeway-toyoya","tag-yml-eatery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857350"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":858166,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857350\/revisions\/858166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}