Former Podcast Host Now 'And Fries' Founder Lwazi Madonsela Brings Fine Dining to the Township

• Lwazi Madonsela left a successful media career to launch And Fries, a premium fast food restaurant in Soweto
• The 26-year-old spent three months in Cape Town studying restaurant design and customer experience before opening
• Madonsela built the eatery as a cultural hub, arguing that township youth deserve the same quality as city centres

Lwazi Madonsela grew up selling drawings to classmates. Today, he is behind one of Soweto's most talked-about new restaurants.

The 26-year-old founder of And Fries spent years building a name for himself in media and brand work before a frustration with slow corporate payments pushed him to rethink everything. Raised between Mpumalanga and Soweto by his grandparents, and later by his mother in Gqeberha, Madonsela showed an early instinct for business, working weekends at his late uncle's store where he picked up lessons on markups and handling customers.

According to BusinessTech, he sharpened his creative eye at Pearson High School in Gqeberha, an arts-focused institution, before going on to study motion picture and VFX post-production at AFDA. He also explored visual arts and trained in pattern making at Lisof while chasing an interest in fashion.

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From podcast studio to restaurant kitchen

His media career was far from ordinary. Between 2019 and 2022, Madonsela hosted Another Sneaker Show at Shelflife, running brand activations for clients including Nike. He later co-founded the podcast Cnr Juta and De Beer with Shu McDowell. The show produced more than 130 episodes and became the first African podcast featured on the Nike app, working alongside brands like Johnnie Walker and Momentum. He also freelanced for Warner Music Africa during its rebrand.

Despite the profile that came with that work, payment cycles stretching beyond 90 days made the freelance model unsustainable. He began looking for something with steadier cash flow and a direct link to the people around him.

And Fries: Bringing the best back to Soweto

Convinced that fast food holds up even in tough economic climates, Madonsela spent three months in Cape Town during 2025 studying how restaurants are designed, how seating is arranged, and how the best spots manage the customer experience. When he returned, he chose to open in Soweto rather than a commercial hub like Rosebank or Braamfontein.

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The decision was deliberate. He believed township residents should not have to travel to the city centre for quality food and atmosphere.

And Fries pairs its culinary offering, built around premium chicken and potato dishes, with a striking red, white, and concrete interior inspired by American chain Five Guys. The menu includes sticky Asian wings, lemon pepper wings, and a signature Lemon Dijon burger, developed alongside a professional chef.

Beyond the food, the restaurant doubles as a gathering point for local creatives, with photography displayed on its walls and music sessions held every Sunday.

More on South African entrepreneurs and businesses

• Briefly News recently reported on a Durban woman who turned years of dreaming into reality by opening her own bridal shop and beauty studio at a major shopping centre.
• A Limpopo entrepreneur is changing the hair industry with an innovative product made from banana plants, with her business now moving closer to commercial production.
• South Africans earning more than R50,000 a month are facing a growing debt crisis, with new figures revealing just how much of their income is going towards repayments.

Source: Briefly News