Mzoli's is a butchery

Butcher

A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...

 in Gugulethu, a township

Township (South Africa)

In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...

 on the outskirts of Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. Since Mzoli's opened in early 2003, the restaurant has become a popular gathering spot for Cape Town residents and a tourist attraction. However, amongst Gugulethu's residents, Mzoli's Place has a reputation for public drunkenness and disrespect for the local community. Mzoli's is named after the founder and owner, Mzoli Ngcawuzele.

History

The establishment opened in early 2003. Owner Mzoli Ngcawuzele obtained start-up funding from the Development Bank of South Africa, which supports black-owned businesses. 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".

In November 2006, more than 30 restaurant patrons, including a group of tourists and Democratic Alliance councillor Masizole Mnqasela

Masizole Mnqasela

Masizole Mnqasela is a South African politician, currently a Member of Parliament with the Democratic Alliance, and the Shadow Minister of Home Affairs.- Offices held :...

, were arrested in a police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

 raid for drinking in public. The restaurant did not sell liquor, but Ngcawuzele explained that he could not stop people from bringing their own alcohol. The incident generated controversy in the local press. Tour operator Ryan Hunt claimed that police swore at the patrons and threatened people for asking questions. "The police created a dangerous situation. People are always encouraged to visit township attractions, but now they are turned away with that kind of situation," he said. Mnqasela, a member of Cape Town's economic development committee, added, "Mzoli's is internationally acclaimed and is key to township tourism. What kind of message are the police sending?" The African National Congress

African National Congress

The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...

 approved the police actions, citing a need to curtail public drunkenness.

Business

Located in the township

Township (South Africa)

In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...

 of Gugulethu, a black neighbourhood 15 kilometres southeast of the centre of Cape Town, Mzoli's is a "do-it-yourself

Do it yourself

Do it yourself is a term used to describe building, modifying, or repairing of something without the aid of experts or professionals...

" market and eatery, selling meat to patrons who in turn hire independent entrepreneurs running braai

Braai

The word braaivleis is Afrikaans for "grilled meat."The word braai is Afrikaans for "barbecue" or "grill" and is a social custom in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The term originated with the Afrikaner people, but has since been adopted by South Africans of many...

 stalls on the grounds to grill the meat and prepare meals. Mzoli's also provides live entertainment and has become noted as a venue for deep house

Deep house

Deep house is a subgenre of house music that fuses elements of Chicago house into the 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. In the early compositions , influences of jazz music were most frequently brought out by using more complex chords than simple triads which are held for many bars and...

 and kwaito

Kwaito

Kwaito is a music genre that emerged in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music featuring the use of African sounds and samples. Typically at a slower tempo range than other styles of house music, Kwaito often contains catchy melodic and percussive loop samples,...

 music.

As well as local people, Mzoli's attracts television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 stars

Celebrity

A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...

, DJs such as DJ Fresh, politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

s such as Tony Yengeni

Tony Yengeni

Tony Sithembiso Yengeni is a South African politician. He was an anti-Apartheid activist and joined the African National Congress in 1976 and later its armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. He has served as member of the South African parliament for the ruling ANC...

, businesspeople, tourists, and college students. Mzoli's is considered to be a "base camp" where "black diamonds" (a local term for an upwardly mobile class of township-based blacks who are at home in the corporate world) gather and network. In September 2006, Sasha Planting of Financial Mail

Financial Mail

Financial Mail , is a South African business publication focused on reaching the country's top business people. This weekly publication, which was launched in 1959, underwent a major "look and feel" change in 2006, which saw it reclaim its position as the most widely read English business weekly in...

called it "the destination for everyone".

Reception by locals

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. Other nearby residents have complained that the property developer has not hired enough local residents. Critics threatened to vandalize or burn both Mzoli's and Ngcauwezele's home if he did not meet their demands for jobs and permanent, guaranteed space for informal traders at the new shopping mall.