Popular Cape Town seafood eatery all at sea after getting its marching orders

Panama Jacks - best known for serving delicious seafood dishes for almost three decades - has become an institution in Cape Town.

But the eatery situated at the Table Bay Harbour has just been given marching orders by Transnet.

Manager Liat Pittaway said they were told that their business was not a “port related activity” and did not comply “with their idea of what business should be in the port”.

Despite this they have continuously renewed their lease of 750 square metres of land from Transnet since 1989. In addition to being a hit among locals it draws many of tourists.

“We are such a popular restaurant in Cape Town‚ we don’t want to go... my first option is to stay exactly where we are because of our location‚” she said.

She said it meant everything to be in the spot because people didn’t just come for the food‚ they also visited the restaurant because of its location.

“We serve about 6000 customers a month. That’s a lot of people. It’s good business‚ we serve the local people. We’ve got a local menu and we have got a specialised seafood menu... we also serve the local farm industry.”

Pittaway said the financial implications could run into to millions of rands.

Coen Birkenstock‚ Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) Corporate Affairs Manager based in the Port of Cape Town‚ confirmed that the restaurant had been told to move.

“The restaurant owner has been offered the opportunity to relocate to an alternative site within the port. Panama Jacks may elect to remain within its present location until its current lease with TNPA expires on 31 March 2018‚ or may agree to the proposed relocation‚” he said in a statement.

He said an alternative area was in the cruise terminal facility. Birkenstock said the site offered better infrastructure‚ greater public access and the opportunity to tap into business from the growing cruise tourism sector.

“The land presently occupied by Panama Jacks is situated within an area that is zoned for Port Industrial use. This presents ongoing operational challenges for the port‚” he said.

But Pittaway said they feared that the proposed location may not attract as much business.

“[Customers] may not like the new location and they might not support it. It’s very frightening‚ it’s a very great risk to take‚” she said.

- TMG Digital/The Times