Want finger-licking fish? Come see Embu nurse

Embu Fish Den. INSET: The proprietor Joan Nyambura. [PHOTOS: JAMES WANZALA/STANDARD]

By James Wanzala

Ask anyone in Embu where the best fish in town is, and they will direct you to Embu Fish Den.

Whatever time of day you visit, the restaurant will be buzzing with the kind of noise only people enjoying a good meal can make.

Joan Nyambura, 35 and a nurse working with an NGO, is the brains behind the restaurant. She opened it in 2012, and the returns have exceeded her expectations.

Despite being in a region where maize and beans are the most common foods, the cosmopolitan nature of the town has seen her fish business embraced by both residents and those who live in its outskirts.

The busiest times are during lunch and in the evenings.

Joan first opened the Embu Fish Market in March last year, and used the proceeds to start her restaurant soon after. She plans to open a new branch soon, as she gets told several times a day that her space is too small and she needs to expand.

Steady stream

During the interview with her, there was a steady stream of customers coming in to eat fish or buy it either fried or raw to take home.

Her menu includes fried tilapia, fish fillet and fish balls served with ugali and vegetables.

Fish balls cost Sh30 to Sh60, fish fillets cost Sh150 to Sh400 and her whole fish goes for Sh150 for a medium-sized piece, to Sh500 for a large one.

‘‘I found that my salary was not enough as a nurse and I needed an extra source of income to supplement it. I did my research and found that fish was only available in the market, and even then, it wasn’t cooked. I figured out I could start a business where I serve it cooked,’’ said Joan, a mother of one.

But what made her think of fish in the first place?

“I used to see hawkers bring huge loads of fish to the market and leave with empty bags at the end of the day. That’s when I discovered there was huge demand for fish in the town. I opened my own fish market soon after this using savings of Sh200,000,” she said.

At first, business was slow.

‘‘The start was so challenging. I had to wait for nearly four months before I started making profits because the cost of running the business was very high, yet it was still new. I had to pay council taxes, public health levies and VAT.’’

But steadily, business began to pick up. She is conveniently located near the Embu Provincial Headquarters office buildings, so many of her customers are civil servants.

Joan says she makes an average of Sh40,000 a month at both premises, after deducting her expenses, which include transport and cooking costs and paying six employees and taxes.

She only employs women because she finds them more trustworthy and believes their money has a multiplier effect as it goes to their families, she says.

Gikomba market

She gets her fish from Nairobi’s Gikomba market and transports it using public means.

She orders 70 kilogrammes of tilapia and 50 kilos of fillet, which last a week. She orders her stock on Saturday and receives it on Monday.

Her biggest challenge so far have been the many Government levies, scarcity of the kind of fish that produces fish balls and rising cost of fuel and gas.

‘‘I am told I will start paying a catering levy of 20 per cent yet I already pay many other taxes. I appeal to the county government to reduce these levies on business people in Embu town because it discourages entrepreneurship,’’ Joan said.