Due to civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng and surrounding areas, where riots and looting caused mayhem, local restaurants had to temporarily close for safety reasons.
Roads in some central parts of the two provinces were no-go zones. Overnight looting and rioting left shops empty and roads strewn with burnt-out vehicles.
On July 11, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that restaurants could now open for sit-ins. This, after they had been prohibited from on-site dining for two weeks when the country went back to alert level 4 lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Restaurants were only allowed to do takeaways and deliveries.
As the president was addressing the country, unrest was breaking out in parts of the KZN. This forced malls, shopping centre's and restaurants to close doors for safety. Some of these restaurants include South Africa’s most loved seafood restaurant, Ocean Basket, and Italian restaurant Lupa Osteria.
With the unrest now seeming to have calmed, restaurants are picking up the pieces to open to the public.
In an Instagram post, Lupa Osteria announced last week that all its KZN restaurants are closed until further notice.
"We are priotising the safety of our customers and staff. Please keep an eye on our newsfeed for further updates. We can't wait to welcome you to Rome away from home soon. Stay safe KZN," they wrote.
In a follow-up post this week, the team at the restaurant’s Florida Road branch said they were preparing to open soon.
“We will keep you posted on our progress. Thank you for your support and prayers. Thank you to our community who went above and beyond their call to ensure the safety of our town and business,” they wrote.
Trendy rooftop venue Views at Twenty 5 used the lockdown and unrest period to improve their brand identity. The Views new logo has been upgraded to align with their bigger vision and purpose. As of today, Views at Twenty 5 will be available on Uber Eats and open for sit-ins from Friday.
Popular restaurant Durban Kota House also took to social media this week to announce that they will be reopening for business on Wednesday.
“The time to rebuild officially starts tomorrow. We will re-open the doors from 9 am. 90% of our suppliers are still shut down, and we’ve had to make other arrangements to make sure DBN Kota House re-opens. Again, we want to send our deepest and most sincere gratitude to everyone who has shown us so much love,” they wrote.
We will limp forward 📢 We'd to announce our #reopening tomorrow morning 21 July 21. #RebuildSA #Nixmapha pic.twitter.com/KhQQlljfFx
— Durban Kota House (@DurbanKotaHouse) July 20, 2021
Wish On Florida is also set to reopen on July 21.
“Wish On Florida to reopen this Wednesday and we cannot wait to welcome you back. Please wear your mask and fill in the register upon arrival. No mask, no entry. We have sanitisers on site for our customers, our staff will disinfect and sanitise furniture, menus, cutlery, etc to ensure your health and safety at all times,” they said.