Mzoli's
Tourists outside Mzoli's in April 2006
LocationGugulethu township, Cape Town, South Africa
Coordinates33°58′35″S 18°34′11″E / 33.97639°S 18.56972°E / -33.97639; 18.56972
OwnerMzoli Ngcawuzele
TypeButcher shop
Restaurant
Nightclub
Genre(s)Deep house
Kwaito
Cape jazz
Marimba
CapacitySeveral hundred
Opened2003
Closed2021

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]

History

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]

Reception

Jamie Oliver in 2008

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]

See also

Media related to Mzoli's at Wikimedia Commons

Notes

  1. ↑ Also known as Mzoli's Place,[1] Mzoli's Meat,[2] Mzoli's Butchery[3] or Kwa-Mzoli.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Lukas, Byron (5 May 2021). "Mzoli's Place closes its doors for now". Cape Town Etc. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Unathi Kondile. "Mzoli's Meat". Youth Radio. Archived from the original on 6 August 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 "Sizzling times at Cape Town's hottest hangout". CNN. 19 April 2010. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  4. ↑ Adami, Kelly (25 August 2005). "They may be Legless, but they're going places". Financial Mail. Archived from the original on 26 September 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  5. 1 2 "Mzoli's - the ultimate user-generated restaurant". cherryflava. 2 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  6. ↑ "Gugulethu residents to protest against new Mall backed the famous Mzoli and Old Mutual". Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  7. ↑ "Where would we go if it shut down?". City Vision. 25 November 2004. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  8. 1 2 Masweneng, Kgaugelo (5 May 2021). "Tourism goes cold as popular shisanyama, Mzoli's Place, closes its doors". SowetanLIVE. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  9. ↑ Mtyala, Quinton. "Some first sunset sundowner places in Cape Town". come2capetown.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  10. ↑ Ana Deumert and Nkululeko Mabandla (18–20 October 2006). "Language, Communication Networks and Economic Participation, Towards an Inclusive Economy" (PDF). University of Cape Town. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  11. 1 2 Nicholson, Zara; Williams, Murray (20 November 2006). "Restaurant raid nets DA councillor". Independent Online. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  12. ↑ Witten, Jade (2 December 2009). "Cape Town's popular shisanyama, Mzoli's Place shuts down indefinitely". Cape Argus. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  13. ↑ Joubert, Pearlie (20 November 2008). "David vs Goliath in Gugulethu". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 December 2009.
  14. ↑ Makora, Misheck (11 October 2020). "Mzoli: I'm still alive and well". Daily Sun. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  15. ↑ Magadla, Mahlohonolo (6 May 2021). "Cape Town's popular shisanyama, Mzoli's Place shuts down indefinitely". News24. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "Issue 2 Jamie magazine". Issuu. 24 February 2009. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  17. ↑ "'Mzoli's Place is heaven'". News24. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  18. ↑ Fairbanks, Eve (9 July 2010). "At the World Cup, Searching for the 'Real' South Africa". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  19. ↑ Walsh, Tina (7 April 2016). "Barbecue and beats in Cape Town's Gugulethu township". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  20. ↑ "Clock and Dagger". Cooking Channel. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.

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