Spur Corporation Limited is a South African restaurant franchise owner. It operates a number of franchise chains, including Spur Steak Ranches, Casa Bella, Panarotti's‚ RocoMamas, The Hussar Grill, Doppio Zero, and Doppio Bistrot.
Founded in 1967, the company is headquartered in Cape Town. As of December 2025, it operates 747 locations across 10 distinct restaurant chains. The company has restaurants in Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
History
The Spur Corporation has its roots in its namesake steakhouse restaurant chain, Spur. The first Spur restaurant, originally called Golden Spur, was established by Allen Ambor in 1967. Ambor is the son of German Jewish immigrants who had fled Nazi Germany. He worked as a waiter while studying for a BA degree at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), graduating in 1966, before establishing the first Golden Spur restaurant in 1967. After the second restaurant opened, the company became a franchise, as a means to expand.
In 1986, Spur was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with its founder serving as chairman.
In December 1990, Spur Corp founded its second restaurant franchise, Panarottis - a pizza and pasta chain.
In 2004 the group bought a 60% shareholding in KwaZulu-Natal-based restaurant franchise John Dory's Fish and Grill, which had 54 outlets at the time.
In 2013, the company acquired The Hussar Grill, a steakhouse franchise that was founded in 1964.
In 2015, Spur Corp acquired a 51% shareholding in fast casual burger chain RocoMamas.
In 2019, the founder of Spur, Allen Ambor, retired after over 50 years with the company.
In 2021, the Spur steakhouse chain launched its first drive through. The following year, RocoMamas launched its first two drive throughs.
In March 2026, the company opened a new franchise, Doppio Bistrot, with the pilot restaurant located in Johannesburg. The chain is operated by Biscotti Trading, in which Spur Corp has a 60% shareholding.
Operations
As of December 2025, Spur Corp has operations in 14 countries in Africa, Asia, and Oceania, across the following restaurant chains:
Restaurant name Type of chain Number of locations Year of establishment Year of acquisition Ref. Spur Steak Ranches Steakhouse 355 In-house Panarottis Italian 150 In-house RocoMamas American-style 117 John Dory's Fish and Grill Seafood 45 Doppio Zero Mediterranean 35 The Hussar Grill Steakhouse 28 Casa Bella Italian 7 In-house Piza ē Vino Italian 7 Modern Tailors Indian 2 Doppio Bistrot Mediterranean 1 In-house Total — 747 — — —
Gallery
References