Last week my colleagues and I chose which service learning project we wanted to work on out of the choices Dr. Gilbert has organized in Cape Town. I chose the Mzansi Restaurant project, because I have been working in restaurants since I was sixteen and have a thorough understanding of the restaurant business. I found a variety of sources specifically about Mzansi because I wanted to improve my understanding of the restaurant itself. I found a youtube video where the co-owner Ace Siyaka is interviewed. He provides a lot of useful information about Mzansi's history, his family, the restaurant's band, and ways they are already marketing the restaurant. I also found a virtual tour of the restaurant. This website gives a 360 degree view of the restaurant, it could be outdated or different now, but instead of us imagining what this restaurant looks like for the next six weeks, we can see direct images. In the youtube video, Ace gives the website for Mzansi, so I also checked out their website. On the home page is a video that gives an idea of the experience customers get at Mzansi and shows how involved the owners are in their restaurant. On the gallery page of their website, there is another video (the video in the center) that expands further on the experience they offer at Mzansi restaurant.
The Mzansi resturant is in the Langa township and is very close to the Cape Town airport. They tend to market to tourists rather than locals and can accommodate very large parties. I did see that they only take guests by reservations and don't prefer walk-in customers. I'm curious to see if allowing walk-ins, and possibly catering to locals from Langa, would expand their business. Overall, the owners seem very involved in their restaurant's success, which is really refreshing because in most of the restaurants I have worked at here in Texas the owners are barely around. The owners and the experience they provide appears to be very genuine and I am so excited we have this opportunity to partner with them.
Like Mzansi Restaurant on Facebook!
Interview with Mzansi's co-owner Ace:
https://YouTube/watch?v=Wn6t6YwcGxM
Mzansi Restaurant's Website:
http://www.mzansi45.co.za/index.html
Virtual tour of Mzansi Restaurant:
http://www.virtualsouthafrica.travel/capetown/tours/mzansi/index.htm
I enjoyed your post! You found a lot of great information surrounding the history of the restaurant. Looking forward to seeing the finished group project :)
ReplyDeleteThe atmosphere of the restuarant seems very friendly and inviting, although the website could use some work. I can't wait to share our ideas with the owners and see the results!
ReplyDelete