"Tangus" fever spreads among residents of Senegal's capital

There’s a new fast food venture in Senegal’s capital Dakar, which seeks to provide healthy meals to patrons in a clean environment.

Known as “Tangus”, the food service so far has 25 outlets in almost all the districts of the Senegalese capital where it serves a variety of meals including hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches and hot and cold drinks.

CEO of Tangus, Emile Almalem told Africanews he decided to build the franchise because he realized “that more and more Senegalese ate out”.

But he also observed that the people who ate out did not have too many options. “There are the traditional taverns, or the different fast Food joints you can see along the streets of Dakar. So we created this concept which ensures proper hygiene and affordable prices of food, while creating a sense of closeness by setting up several sales and meeting points,” he said.

‘Tangus’ which has been in existence for about three months, has created 380 jobs in its outlets in Dakar.

It is highly popular among tourists and students who either come alone or in groups.

Pape Saliou Sall who describes himself as a “loyal Tangus customer” told Africanews that he picks up his breakfast everyday at Tangus “before going to the office. I like the quality and the clean environment, but more importantly, the price which is accessible to all”.

His loyalty he said had paid off as he has been given a loyalty card “that makes my purchase easy”.
But it appears not everyone is catching the Tangus fever as some Senegalese, particularly those in the working and lower class still patronize their meals from the traditional taverns where the food is comparatively cheaper.

“The meals are less expensive and delicious. Every morning, I spend only 250 CFA or 300 CFA and even with that there is food left over because I am served well,” said Ousmane Ngom, a carpenter who prefers to get his meals at the traditional taverns.

The developers of the Tangus franchise are looking to expand it to other parts of the sub-region to countries such as Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Ghana.