On a routine Sunday morning visit to my local booze shop I was unexpectedly confronted with the shocking news that the last of the OG’s are about to fall.
Word on the street: The Shack is closing down.
In recent years the loss of drunken strongholds like The Corner House, Mr Pickwicks and Rafiki’s weighted in heavily on the nostalgia of Cape Town’s ex-students. Our dingy grunge past are but all demolished in favour of modern fake-authentic hangouts.
So armed with this unsettling news DrinksFeed send our Editor, spitorswallow, on a reconnaissance mission. At around 2am, armed with a company credit card and tummy full of tequila, our professional bar fly made her way to The Shack in search of the TRUTH (not the coffee shop). After interrogation everyone around a pool table and behind a bar counter, we can now confirm with a heavy heart that The Shack will indeed close its doors.
New owners of the de Villiers streets building have earmarked it for demolishment in the near further. The exact date is unclear, but intel points to early 2019.
It seem like only yesterday we were shooting eight balls and quaffing quarts here when just like that, 20 years are gone – and soon so will The Shack.
The Official Responds
People Of The Shack,
Its been brought to our attention that word on the street is that we’ll be closing down in the foreseeable future. So we felt it’s time to shed some light on the subject.Over the last couple of years we’ve heard more than a few rumours that The Shack is being sold, demolished, re-branded etc.
We’ve always been honest about these rumours, as we’ve always stated that The Shack is not for sale.
However the area we are situated in, Zonnebloem, is rapidly turning into a commercial hub with the likes of ETV moving in next door, as well as new developments next to the Engen Garage on the corner of Roeland & De Villiers Street. This has all made The Shack a very attractive location for investors and corporates. With offers upwards of ridiculous amounts being thrown our way, negotiations about possible buy-outs were inevitable.So here’s the good and the bad news…
The bad news is that there is no date or time set on when or if this will actually happen, whether or not The Shack will cease to be. There are ongoing discussions regarding re-developments on the property and plans have been submitted.
The good news is that this could take years with all the planning and negotiations between the various parties involved.
In the meantime we will continue to operate as we have for the last 23 years and the same team that’s been running The Shack for the last 20 years will continue to do so.
IF, and when we do have anything official on this on-going matter, you will be the first to know.
Until then, pop in for a couple of cold ones.The Shack
