CJ’s Restaurant: Ugandan Tycoon behind the Famous Restaurant in Nairobi

Café Javas restaurant popularly known as CJ’s restaurant is a popular chain of food joints in Nairobi attracting many customers drawn from working and middle-class Kenyans.

The man behind the popular restaurant is a renowned Kampala businessman, Ahmed Omar Mandela, one of Uganda's most influential and wealthiest individuals. Omar through the Mandela Group of companies founded Cj’s in 2016 with an aim of shaping the hospitality industry.

His first restaurant was established on Bombo road, just next to the city oil petrol station which he named Café Javas. Within a short period of time, the restaurant became very popular. The restaurant's success encouraged the tycoon to open other branches in Kampala. Currently, it has 9 successful branches in Uganda, 8 in Kampala, and 1 in Entebbe.

After the restaurant became a huge success in Uganda, Omar decided to join the Kenyan market. Immediately after announcing his plans to set up a restaurant in Nairobi, he received a court order blocking their entry, this court order was from Java house.

The order claimed that the name (Café Java) would cause a trademark infringement. This made Mandela rebrand from Café Javas to CJ’s restaurant in 2018.

The first branch was opened on Koinange Street in Nairobi’s CBD. The Kenyan market received them well and this prompted Mandela to open other branches in Village Market, Kilimani, and at the Waterfront Mall in Karen.

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