Almost a year after opening Fusion Cocktail Lounge in Melville, Johannesburg, media personality Mohale Motaung has reportedly shut down the establishment permanently.
Mohale previously told TshisaLIVE, “I love bringing people together, it’s always been my thing. I’ve travelled so much and I’ve witnessed how happy people are at clubs and lounges. I wanted to create my own culture for people to have fun and come together.”
He added that he also wanted to use the space for upcoming individuals to get into the industry as it was not easy to get into. He further shared with the above-mentioned publication, “A lot of them are not given the opportunity to play or showcase what they can do. People always want to work with people who are known because it brings the crowd.”
However, it seems the opportunity may cease as ZiMoja has reported that, a friend and former employee of the club confirmed that it has closed down. “He [Mohale] tried to keep it open. There were a few months when he battled with rent and was locked outside, but he decided to permanently close down.”
The source adds, “Staff was not paid, stock needed to be bought and rent does not come cheap, especially when it comes to load shedding and using generators, it became expensive to run. The place would be closed a lot of the time and customers would stop coming because of that.”
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An unnamed, neighbouring business owner told ZiMoja that people were locked out of the establishment due to the rent, adding, “Also, there is a nightclub across that young people love, so the competition is tough.”
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