Location | Gugulethu township, Cape Town, South Africa |
---|---|
Coordinates | 33°58′35″S18°34′11″E / 33.97639°S 18.56972°E |
Owner | Mzoli Ngcawuzele |
Type | Butcher shop Restaurant Nightclub |
Genre(s) | Deep house Kwaito Cape jazz Marimba |
Capacity | Several hundred |
Opened | 2003 |
Closed | 2021 |
Mzoli's [note 1] was a butchery in Gugulethu, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. [4] Since Mzoli's opened in early 2003, the restaurant had become a popular gathering spot for Cape Town residents and a tourist attraction. [5] Amongst Gugulethu's residents, Mzoli's Place has a reputation for public drunkenness and disrespect for the local community. [6] Mzoli's is named after the founder and owner, Mzoli Ngcawuzele. [7] The restaurant closed indefinitely in May 2021 partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. [8]
The establishment opened in early 2003. [9] Owner Mzoli Ngcawuzele obtained start-up funding from the Development Bank of South Africa, which supports black-owned businesses. [2] In October 2006, an economic study said that Mzoli had "moved, from selling meat informally from a garage, to owning one of the most popular hangouts in Cape Town". [10]
On November 19, 2006, more than 40 people including a group of tourists and Democratic Alliance councillor Masizole Mnqasela, were arrested in a police raid for drinking in public. [11] The restaurant did not sell alcohol, but Ngcawuzele explained that he could not stop people from bringing their own. [11] Magistrate Donald Grobler accepted Mnqasela's evidence and he received 100,000 South African rand after winning his civil case against the police. [12]
Some local residents near a long-planned shopping mall that is being built by a business partly owned by Mzoli's owner criticized his plans in 2008. Some businesses were legally evicted or threatened with eviction from older buildings owned by Mzoli, which were then knocked down to make room for the new property development. [13]
In 2018, Mzoli's was temporarily closed due to a car in front of the butchery being set alight in a protest for better housing. [1] In 2020, amidst rumours that Mzoli Ngcawuzele had died, the Daily Sun reported that he was "still alive and well" and was celebrating his 66th birthday. [14] In May 2021, the restaurant was closed indefinitely. [8] Mzoli Ngcawuzele's daughter Sisanda Mangele said it closed due to "a lot of things, from physical safety to the state of the economy and restrictions of the pandemic". [15]
Located in the township of Gugulethu, a black neighbourhood 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southeast of the centre of Cape Town, Mzoli's was a "do-it-yourself" market and eatery, selling meat to patrons who in turn hired independent entrepreneurs running braai stalls on the grounds to grill the meat and prepare meals. [5] Mzoli's also provided live entertainment and has become noted as a venue for deep house and kwaito music. [2] As well as local people, Mzoli's attracted television stars, DJs such as DJ Fresh, politicians such as Tony Yengeni, businesspeople, tourists, and college students. [2]
British chef Jamie Oliver featured Mzoli's on the cover of his magazine in April 2009. [16] [17] He described Mzoli's as "sexy" and praised the "incredible flavor" of its grilled meat. [3] He added that due to the hot temperature in South Africa they can't hang meat like in Europe so they would just kill it, gut it, skin it and eat it. [18] Tina Walsh of The Guardian called it "a big open-air shack" which "has a devoted following". [19]
In 2016, the Travel Channel show Secret Eats with Adam Richman featured a segment at Mzoli's during the episode "Clock and Dagger" which was filmed in Cape Town. [20]
Media related to Mzoli's at Wikimedia Commons
Curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included.
Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the country's second-largest city, after Johannesburg, and the largest in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.
Cape Town International Airport is the primary international airport serving the city of Cape Town, and is the second-busiest airport in South Africa and third-busiest in Africa. Located approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the city center, the airport was opened in 1954 to replace Cape Town's previous airport, Wingfield Aerodrome. Cape Town International Airport is the only airport in the Cape Town metropolitan area that offers scheduled passenger services. The airport has domestic and international terminals, linked by a common central terminal.
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of 129,449 square kilometres (49,981 sq mi), and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George.
The City of Cape Town is the local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of the 2016 community survey, it had a population of 4,005,016.
Gugulethu is a township in the Western Cape, South Africa and is 15 km from Cape Town. Its name is a contraction of igugu lethu, which is Xhosa for our pride. The township was established along with Nyanga in the 1960s.
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The N2 Gateway Housing Pilot Project is a large housebuilding project under construction in Cape Town, South Africa. It has been labelled by the national government's former Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu as "the biggest housing project ever undertaken by any Government." Even though it is a joint endeavour by the National Department of Housing, the provincial government of the Western Cape and the City of Cape Town, a private company, Thubelisha, has been outsourced to find contractors, manage, and implement the entire project. Thubelisha estimates that some 25,000 units will be constructed, about 70% of which will be allocated to shack-dwellers, and 30% to backyard dwellers on the municipal housing waiting lists. Delft, 40 km outside of Cape Town, is the main site of the Project.
No Land! No House! No Vote! is the name of a campaign by a number of poor people's movements in South Africa that calls for the boycotting of the vote and a general rejection of party politics and vote banking. The name is meant to imply that if government does not deliver on issues important to affected communities these movements will not vote.
Matthew Hindley is a South African painter. He graduated from the Michaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town in 2002, where he was awarded the Michaelis Prize.
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Bonginkosi Success Madikizela is a South African politician.
Dineo Ranaka is a South African radio personality, television presenter, actress, DJ, and TV producer.
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