Dollar Table open for business?
MELVILLE – Residents have expressed their anger following the alleged re-opening of the bar where Thulane Popoyi was hacked to death in October.
The unsolicited Dollar Table bar has allegedly re-opened at a different venue in Melville under a new alias.
The infamous bar where Melville’s favourite rugby player Thulane Popoyi was hacked to death on 5 October is alleged to have moved from 7th street to 4th Avenue, where Cool Runnings formerly operated.
According to a reliable source who refused to be named for fear of reprisal, the new bar will open under a new name “Sky” and Dollar Table owner Sydney Moshapo is a partner in this venture.
Ward 87 councillor Amanda Forsythe is disappointed by this development.
“They [Dollar Table] have proved to be a highly problematic business that has created a lot of problems for the suburb. I have little faith that they will change their ways,” she said.
“While I deeply regret the tragic death of Thulane Popoyi in October this year, something good has come out of his passing; it has galvanised the community and given new impetus to both the Melville Business Association and the Residents Association.
So much has been done by these organisations and other community members to clean up and improve the suburb since then. It made people realise that apathy will get us nowhere and only a collaborative effort will bring back the Melville we all know and love.”
Forsythe added that “the corner of 4th Ave and Main road is already a very problematic area in Melville, not least of which is due to the poor state of several properties, including the ex-Cool Runnings, owned by the same absentee landlord, Enrico from Ristorante Enrico in Plettenberg bay.”
“I would like to use this as an opportunity to get the landlord to please do something about his properties in Melville,” she concluded.
Chairperson on the Melville Business Association (MBA) Clyde Terry also expressed his disappointment.
“The Melville Business Association honestly feels that Dollar Table’s days in Melville are over and that at this point in time it is not correct to open up again in Melville.
We are working hard at getting the businesses that are not trading legally out of Melville and or to help assist them in becoming compliant with all regulations.
It is fair to say that judgement is yet to be made however it is a story that left us all cold and angry that this had been allowed to manifest itself when so many of us working at getting Melville back to what it used to be and of course much better than before,” he said.
According to Terry, the MBA is investigating the liquor licence of the venue.
On their Facebook page on 28 November, the Dollar Table administrator wrote “tonight we go live”. This post came a month after they asked their followers “When do you want dollar table to open” with no response from anyone.
Despite all these allegations, Dollar Table owner Sydney Moshapo denied re-opening the bar.
“That street is dead, nobody can make money there…” he said.
When asked what the Facebook status updates meant Moshapo said “Could be a DJ, I am done with Melville”.
He added that he and the staff used to rotate in managing the Facebook page and he does not remember who the last person to have managing authority was.
Melville Residents expressed their disappointments on social media.
