Former McDonald’s SA boss takes over Pantry by Marble
JOHANNESBURG — The former chief executive who helped grow McDonald’s South Africa to more than 400 restaurants has been hired to lead Pantry by Marble, as the home-grown luxury food retailer prepares to expand beyond its Gauteng base.
Greg Solomon spent 15 years as CEO of McDonald’s South Africa, overseeing a business with more than 15,000 employees. His appointment gives Pantry an experienced large-scale retail operator as founders David Higgs and Gary Kyriacou move the concept into its next phase of growth.
Pantry began during the Covid-19 pandemic and developed into an upmarket combination of grocery store, bakery, butchery, coffee shop and chef-led prepared food retailer. It currently has permanent stores in Rosebank, Bassonia and Hazelwood, as well as a pop-up at The Marc in Sandton.
The expansion is already accelerating. A Fourways store is scheduled to open in October, while a significantly larger 1,300-square-metre standalone Pantry is planned next to the Mall of Africa in 2027. The company also intends to expand outside Gauteng.
Solomon said the immediate focus would be on building the systems required to support that growth, including training, supply chains, standardisation and the operation of Pantry’s central kitchen.
“Fast change and scale need discipline, and it has to be added without compromising the brand’s character and culture,” Solomon said.
His move from one of the world’s largest fast-food brands to a relatively young South African premium retailer also signals Pantry’s ambitions. McDonald’s operates through highly standardised systems that allow individual restaurants to deliver a consistent product at scale, while Pantry’s appeal has been built around a more curated food and retail experience.
Solomon said the challenge would therefore extend beyond simply opening more stores. Pantry would need to maintain the quality and character that established the brand while introducing the operational structure needed for a larger national footprint.
He said demand for Pantry already meant the company would have to be selective about locations, products and people as it expands.
The appointment comes as South Africa’s major food retailers continue experimenting with more premium formats, prepared meals and food experiences alongside traditional grocery shopping. Pantry enters that market from a different position, having grown from the restaurant and hospitality industry rather than from an established supermarket group.
For Higgs and Kyriacou, bringing in an executive who has already managed hundreds of outlets suggests the business is moving beyond proving that the Pantry concept works. Its next test will be whether the experience created in its first Gauteng stores can be reproduced as the footprint becomes significantly larger.
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