10/03/2026
THE COST OF BEING A SAMARITAN: HOW I LOST THE GRIND PUB AND GRILL BRAND IN A SINGLE DAY
For five years, I built the Grind Pub and Grill brand with dedication, sacrifice (Debt-Nkongole), and patience even through the COVID 19 trials. Like many people trying to create a side hustle in Zambia, the journey was never easy. It required personal financial risk, long working hours, and a deep commitment to building a reputation within the community.
A business brand is not simply a name on a signboard. It represents trust, customer experience, and the relationships that develop over time between a business and its patrons.
It took five years to build the Grind Pub and Grill brand.
Yet, in a single day, it was lost.
The most painful part of this experience was realizing that worker behaviour and their personal relationships played the biggest role in the collapse of something that took years to build.
Building a Brand from the Ground Up
Grind Pub and Grill was created to be more than just a place to eat and drink. It was designed to be a social hub for the community—a place where people could relax, interact, and enjoy good food and service.
Slowly, the brand began to grow.
Customers started recognizing the name.
The reputation of the place improved through word of mouth.
The business began to build brand equity an intangible but powerful asset.
But like many small businesses, the success of the brand depended heavily on the behaviour, discipline, and integrity of the people working within it.
The Cost of Being a Samaritan
At one point, I made a decision that many entrepreneurs make: I chose to help others.
Instead of running the business with strict control and distance, I adopted a more supportive approach. I trusted workers, gave opportunities, and believed that by helping people improve their livelihoods, they would also protect and grow the business.
In many ways, I acted as a Samaritan extending trust and goodwill.
The Day the Brand Was Lost
After five years of building the Grind Pub and Grill reputation, events unfolded in a single day that resulted in the loss of the brand and what it represented.
It was not simply a business setback.
It felt like losing years of effort, investment, and goodwill.
What was even more difficult to accept was that the collapse was due to worker personal behaviour and misplaced trust.
Moving Forward
Losing the Grind Pub and Grill brand in a single day was painful. It was the loss of five years of work, sacrifice, and hope with a lot of Debt (Nkongole) Which I still pay upto this day for a business that is no longer functional.
But it also became a powerful lesson.
Entrepreneurship is not only about building businesses; it is also about learning from the realities of leadership, trust, and human behaviour.
A brand can be taken away.
But the lessons learned from building and losing one can never be taken.
And sometimes, the greatest cost of being a Samaritan is realizing that KINDNESS WITHOUT STRUCTURE CAN DESTROY WHAT TOOK YEARS TO BUILD.
