By Susan Kemp
“Is it your first time here?” Johnny DeBeer, co-owner of Zunzi’s, leans closer to the counter to hear over the chatter. A young couple darts their eyes towards the current entrée being prepared, slender strips of chicken rested over a bed of mashed potatoes, and the chalk-written names on the menu overhead. It’s a common scenario.
The names on the menu above range from Godfather to Conquistador to Fisherman’s Deck—names as bold as the vibrant golds and reds in the flags above the door—but just as foreign to anyone walking in for the first time.
As if anticipating this anxiety, the man behind the counter jumps into ambassador mode, welcoming each new arrival to the Zunzi’s experience.
“Here, darling, try this.” Johnny fills a tiny plastic cup with a pink sauce and dips in a strip of chicken, handing it across the counter. “So, where you from?”
While the space within Zunzi’s is tight—customers often hug the walls as people slide in and others walk out with their food—the atmosphere feels anything but claustrophobic.
The warm-colored walls, almost an orange, are covered with Polaroid-sized photographs taken by Johnny himself. People, both behind the counter and in front of it, always seem to be a good mood. Perhaps it’s a subconscious effect of the mellow vibe of the music in the background and the lingering smell of sauces and fresh homemade sausage being rushed down from the upstairs kitchen. Or maybe it’s the friendly servers who seem to be able to answer just about any comment or question with a resounding, “S*** yeah!”
In fact, the phrase has become such a popular exchange between the staff and regulars that T-shirts with the slogan are now sold behind the counter and on their website.
As to the history of the saying, DeBeer explained, “There was a guy in the kitchen, Kerry, when we first opened and that’s how it started. He said it just whenever. Then it caught on. It’s catchy.”
DeBeer and his wife, Gabby, opened Zunzi’s in downtown Savannah six years ago. It quickly became a student favorite, in part because the then empty building across the street became York Hall, the administration building for SCAD.
Their menu borrows from each of the couple’s childhood experiences. The name itself is derived from an island in Africa called Zanzibar. “I always liked the name,” DeBeer explained, “that’s the true story anyway, but whenever students ask I usually say it means ‘beautiful African woman.’”
The rich scent of the seasonings and sauces that bombard the customer upon walking in can be credited to Gabby’s Italian heritage. “She knows more about spices and things like that,” DeBeer said. “She’s beautiful like her Grandma. She’s Italian and Gypsy. She learned a lot from them.”
The sauces are so popular that the store now bottles and ships the sauces across the country, in response to past students and other visitors who now live outside of Savannah.
While Gabby does more of the cooking, DeBeer complements the menu with some of his local favorites from his home in South Africa, including the Shepherd’s Pie, homemade sausages and Rooibos African sweet tea.
The most ordered item on the menu is the Conquistador, a sandwich stuffed at the seams with chicken and smothered with secret sauce, while a close contender is the Godfather, a similar sandwich which also includes a choice of homemade or smoked sausage.
“You can stand in line and probably three people in front of you and three people behind you are getting the Conquistador, but the chicken was by pure accident,” Johnny recalls laughing. In fact, in 2005, chicken wasn’t even on the menu.
“It started when Gabby did a catering job and we had some chicken left over. We brought it back to the restaurant and we figured we’d show it to some people and see if they like it. It’s amazing what one sandwich will do.”
The other additions over the years are simply a response to what the customers want. “A lot of SCAD students these days care more about what they eat,” DeBeer said. Zunzi’s boasts many popular vegetarian dishes, including the falafel, vegetarian curry and mushroom sub.
The menu is largely responsible for the lines that will wrap down York towards Abercorn Street during lunch hours, but for many it’s the familiar faces behind the counter that keep them coming back—sometimes several times a week.
“I love Zunzi’s because the food is simply delicious, and they give a huge amount for a reasonable price,” said third-year painting major Susanna Johnson. “But if the guy with the accent didn’t call me ‘darling’ every time I order, I probably wouldn’t like it half as much.”
It’s this contagious energy that seems to propel Zunzi’s into something similar to the ma and pa shops that an older generation of Southerners nostalgically remember. However, DeBeer and his wife are not exactly ma and pa, but maybe the hip older brother we always wished we had, and his quick-witted girlfriend, just as confident and bold.
Many locals may also recognize the other staff behind the counter, including Kenny Clark, the tall, outgoing server/manager always sporting a backwards baseball cap and ready to add a “rain” of secret sauce and marinara to a sandwich with an enthusiastic “S*** yeah!”
“It’s important to get the right people, in any business, but especially in the food business mostly because they’ve got to care about it more than we do,” DeBeer said. “That’s the key.”
Zunzi’s is open Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Entrées range from $7–$10.
