HARARE NIGHTLIFE: And then the music died

IS the nightclub business feeling the liquidity crunch or is it simply failing to meet the needs of pleasure-seekers?

Nightclubs open, close, rebrand, reopen and close again.

Harare’s nightlife, once perfect for residents colloquially known as “the people who do not sleep (havarare)”, is going out with a whimper.

Around 2009, upon adoption of the multiple currency regime, nightspots pulsated with the rhythm of dancers and was illuminated by the neon lights synonymous with any of the world’s pleasure capitals.

Bars filled up quickly at 5pm and the revelry of the hedonists and the banter of serious drinkers kept these establishments open long beyond their licences allowed.

Some have stood the test of time: Tipperary’s, Boomerang, Pensao, Londoner’s and Chez Ntemba continue to pull in crowds.

But they are the exception rather than the rule.

More sedate joints have not been spared the bloodletting. Recently Book Café called curtains on its gutsy but ultimately ill-fated effort to remain on the scene.

Now news of the uptown Misty’s also serving its final orders is doing the rounds.

Many clubs in Harare are barely scrapping by. Workers’ salaries and the high cost of rentals are putting paid to their survival efforts in what has always been a cut-throat business where failure to adapt to patrons’ fickle tastes is the difference between profit and loss.

An arm and a leg

Most urban leisure spots use rented premises.

Landlords charge what they charge, whether it be a liquor store or clothing retailer. And pubs do not make the same kind of dollars as other retailers so they fail to compete.

Rentals for nightclubs are between US$2 500 and US$7 000 depending on size and market/location.

A small clothing boutique will pay about US$500 per month in rentals and bring in a profit of US$1 500 or more. A pub of that same size would struggle to pay salaries and utilities.

And where retailers can easily share space, it is hard for two clubs to be too close to each other and both thrive.

This also means where retailers can share rental costs, clubs compete to pay separate rent.

Danger ahead

And while the businessowners have suffered, so too have the hedonists in search of a good time in Harare at night.

Since 2014, we have been served our last drinks by the good bartenders of Jazz 105, Sports Diner, Mega 1, Airport Lounge, Zim Cafe (Fife Avenue), Circus Night Club and Roots of Africa.

Interestingly, most of these have smoothly been turned into sports betting centres, with Sports Diner and Job’s Nite Sport being good examples.

The people going through those doors now to place wagers on European football teams, horses in the United Arab Emirates and dogs everywhere else is probably higher than those who used to patronise the venues when they were nightclubs.

The last person to try and run Sports Diner, Barbara “Mai Red Rose” Chikosi, pointed to high rentals as the straw that broke the camel’s back.

In many months, she said, what she paid in rent (which other sources tell us was around US$5 000) was higher than what drinkers put in her pocket.

Jazz 105 proprietor Josh Hozheri also fell on his sword.

He had maintained his brand under difficult conditions, supporting low weekday takings with highly-subscribed weekend shows.

But a 100 percent rent increase – from US$3 500 to US$7 000 – did him in.

“I did not want to close. I fought for my beloved Jazz 105 silently for a long time, tried to reason with landlords, but to no avail.

“In fact, business was proceeding well with a reasonable rental charge that we had, but from nowhere and without justification the charges were doubled in the process suffocating our operations. There was no way out. We just had to move to a new place,” recaps Big Josh.

He sees more carnage ahead – if club owners do not band together and strategise who best to keep the beat alive.

“We are being eaten, one by one. We need a union, a platform to speak with one voice. It does not matter how shrewd you are, you just cannot beat high rentals and licence fees. Any increase in them has to be passed to clients, which in turn will push them away. Honestly who would want to pay US$3 for a pint in an average joint?” queries Josh.

Liquor stores sell a pint of lager for a dollar going up.

Down the drain

Many of the places are closing down despite huge investments in creating venues that cater for various needs.

In the case of Book Café, low turnover and – chiefly – the withdrawal of donor funding contributed to the collapse of the enterprise.

Fundraising gigs to avert closure brought in little, and Tomas Brickhill could not save his late father’s dream.

“The business cannot last beyond a year, maybe a year-and-a-half. This is me being pro-active. I’m trying to deal with the problem before we get too desperate,” said Brickhill in early 2015.

Book Cafe was biased towards the upper class. Though it did feature many shows headlined by struggling artistes, it’s pricing structure indicated expectation of patronage from deeper pocketed clients.

Moreover, the venue was small, and a few number of rich people can only spend so much money on whiskey and beer.

Book Café had already moved from Fife Avenue in 2012 due to rental issues, and its sister club Mannenberg, which hosted theatre productions and film screenings, did not make it. The bloodletting continues.

Misty’s has been forced to fold operations for three reasons: the joint is much smaller than Book Café, it demanded cover charges of US$10, and rent was pegged at US$4 000 monthly.

‘Dingy bars’

But mass market offerings, derisively referred to as “dingy bars”, are thriving.

Players Nite Club, formerly Big Bite (a games arcade and fast food outlet) and Kule’s Bar are good examples, with seats packed from as early as 10am and the bartender doing duty until the last drunk staggers out – whatever time that might be.

Selling mainly lagers at “pump price” (US$1 for a pint and US$1,75 for a quart), and hosting dancers and unheralded singers is doing the trick for them.

Also, rentals are low.

This is because they are located in buildings or areas that generally do not attract high rentals. And in instances where rentals are a challenge, owners push beer sales like slave drivers to even things out.

“We attract people from every class, civil servants, business people, vendors and journalists like you. And the trick for us has been on selling cheap drinks at the same time allowing free admission except on special occasions.

“A person who enters our club is as good a customer as anyone else. I think you know that it is difficult for one to just come and sit in a bar without buying a drink or something or even play pool. Either way we make sure that we get the visitor to spend,” says a staffer at Player’s.

Venues like Tipperary’s and Pensao are the old hands, thriving where others have fallen.

Reasonable pricing has much to do with it. As do the ladies of the night who frequent the places. And the clubs seem never to close shop, operating almost on a 24-hour basis.

Short lifespan

Apart from rentals, club owners are also expected to have more than 10 paid-for licences to different authorities.

For instance, a nightclub pays money to the city council, Liquor Board, Ministry of Health, Censorship Board, Zimbabwe Music Rights Association, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, and the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Zimbabwe, among others.

These require around US$4 000 at the beginning of every year, while others have to be paid after the end of specified calendar periods.

Promoter and venue owner Biggie Chinoperekwei says while all these costs have a big say in shutting down of some clubs, so does the wider economic environment.

“We closed Airport Lounge because of high rentals.

“Rentals should be set such that they allow you to operate for six or seven months with low business. But at present the rentals are set in a way that a slump in trade will instantly drive you out of business and that has been made worse by the prevailing harsh economic conditions,” says Chinoperekwei.

The Devine Assignments director runs Richwood Sports Club, Private Lounge, Holly’s Hotel and Bar, City Sports Bar, Club Archies and Club Superlabel, among others.

Chinoperekwei adds that the “normal lifespan” of a club world-over is between five and 10 years.

“We could by now have closed a number of our operations. But we are fortunate that we have different clubs that cater for different tastes. Hence when one is not performing well, it is subsidised by others. City Sports Bar is currently not doing well but Superlabel is in form. A few years back it was vice versa.”

The price of beer, Chinoperekwei says, is not a factor because Zimbabwe has the cheapest lager in Southern Africa, pointing out that South Africa’s Castle Lite is sold for less than in its country of origin.

Bad worker blames tools

Never count out the huge cost of poor management.

Some clubs have failed to adapt to changing tastes and demands. Patrons dump them and move on in search of the flavour of the month.

To counter this, club owners have been introducing new concepts and themes to spice up nightlife, while others have renovated their joints.

Eventworx marketing manager Lyndon Kapuya says innovation, uniqueness and class are the only guarantees for success in the business.

The company recently launched a Pabloz franchise in Borrowdale.

Prior to that, there had been a “club war” in the area. Upmarket venues Club H2O, Club Envy, Bleu Lounge and Mekka opened roundabout the same time.

On its opening night, Club Envy wanted a cover of up to US$500.

Their war fizzled out, as the relatively small and supremely overpriced venues felt the heat and exited the kitchen.

Mekka, H2O and Leonardo’s have been rebranded Pabloz VVIP, Pabloz Clun and Pabloz VIP respectively.

“The biggest pull factor in the club business is uniqueness. As long as you maintain standards, business will never drop. People tend to get too comfortable in terms of innovation and patrons get bored. We are going to be interactive and adopt what people want. This way I’m sure we will go a long way,” says Kapuya.

He adds that legal experts’ services are crucial when signing lease and other agreements.

“There are unscrupulous businesspeople that will want to drive you out of their premises through unjustified increases in rentals. Therefore, there is need to involve people that understand the long-term legality of leases. This in turn will help avoid uncertainty and guarantee continuity.”

Kapuya says enforcing age restrictions is crucial in attracting quality crowds.

Younger revellers spend less and are less well-behaved, inconveniencing the older set. Many will smuggle in their own alcohol and the club gets virtually nothing in its till.

Pabloz has a no under 25 restriction.

Some club owners say the police harass their patrons, mainly females, which drives away crowds.