Mzoli's was a
butcher
A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...
y in
Gugulethu
Gugulethu is a township in Western Cape, South Africa and is around 20km from Cape Town. Its name is a contraction of ''igugu lethu'', which is Xhosa for ''our pride / our hope.'' The area was the third township to be established in Cape Town, a ...
, a
township
A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
on the outskirts of
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, South Africa. Since Mzoli's opened in early 2003, the restaurant had become a popular gathering spot for Cape Town residents and a
tourist
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...
attraction. It was praised by international visitors including restaurateur
Jamie Oliver. Mzoli's was criticized by local residents and the media for its lack of safety, due to the prevalence of gangs. The restaurant closed indefinitely in May 2021 due to several factors.
History
Mzoli's opened in early 2003 in
Gugulethu
Gugulethu is a township in Western Cape, South Africa and is around 20km from Cape Town. Its name is a contraction of ''igugu lethu'', which is Xhosa for ''our pride / our hope.'' The area was the third township to be established in Cape Town, a ...
,
a neighbourhood around from of the centre of Cape Town. Mzoli's was a "
do-it-yourself
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi- ...
" eatery.
It provided meat to customers, who then enlisted independent vendors operating
braai stalls on-site to grill the meat and prepare meals.
Mzoli's owner, Mzoli Ngcawuzele, obtained start-up funding from the
Development Bank of South Africa.
An economic study by the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa.
Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
said that Ngcawuzele had moved "from selling meat informally from a garage, to owning one of the most popular hangouts in Cape Town".
On November 19, 2006, over 40 people, including tourists and
Democratic Alliance councillor
Masizole Mnqasela were arrested in a
police
The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
raid outside Mzoli's for drinking in public. The restaurant did not sell alcohol, but Ngcawuzele explained that he could not stop people from bringing their own.
Three years later, Mnqasela sued the police for his wrongful arrest. He won the lawsuit, and received 100,000
South African rand
The South African rand, or simply the rand, (currency sign, sign: R; ISO 4217, code: ZAR) is the official currency of South Africa. It is subdivided into 100 Cent (currency), cents (sign: "c"), and a comma separates the rand and cents.
The Sou ...
in compensation.
In May 2017, a person from
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
was stabbed outside Mzoli's, leading to concerns about the area's safety. 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.
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.
In May 2021, the restaurant was closed indefinitely.
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".
A restaurant called Teez Lounge occupies the site where Mzoli's was.
Reception
Mzoli's became one of Cape Town's most popular gathering spots.
Customers played music from their parked cars,
and the butchery became known as a hub for
deep house
Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ...
and
kwaito music.
It attracted locals,
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
stars
A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...
,
DJs,
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
s, business people, tourists, and college students.
In 2013, the non-profit news agency
GroundUp reported that regular customers often felt unsafe in the establishment, due to the prevalence of
gangs.
British chef
Jamie Oliver featured Mzoli's on the cover of his magazine in April 2009.
He described Mzoli's as "sexy" and praised the "incredible flavor" of the meat.
He added that due to the hot temperature in South Africa, the locals cannot hang meat like in Europe, so they would just "kill it, gut it, skin it and eat it".
Tina Walsh of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' called it "a big open-air shack" which "has a devoted following".
In popular culture
A
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...
article on the shop was created by the encyclopedia's co-founder
Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), also known as Jimbo Wales, is an American List of Internet entrepreneurs, Internet entrepreneur and former Trader (finance), financial trader. He is a Founders of Wikipedia, co-founder of the non-profi ...
, which led to a debate on the crowdsourced project's inclusion criteria.
See also
*
List of butcher shops
Notes
References
{{good article
2003 establishments in South Africa
2021 disestablishments in South Africa
Black-owned restaurants
Buildings and structures in Cape Town
Butcher shops
Defunct restaurants
Food and drink companies based in Cape Town
Restaurants disestablished in 2021
Restaurants disestablished due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Restaurants established in 2003
Restaurants in South Africa
Shops in South Africa
Tourist attractions in Cape Town