The iconic Beerhouse in Long Street is closing its doors after 11 years.
The bright, yellow popular spot – which is known for its 99 craft beers – opened its doors on International Beer Day on 2 August 2013. On Wednesday, the well-loved Beerhouse took to Facebook to break the news.
The owner, Randolf Jorberg has been vocal about the reasons for the closure. He said he was threatened by Cape Town’s extortion gangs. An episode of investigative news programme Carte Blanche, which aired on 21 July, delved into this exposing the Mother City’s underworld and more death threats emerged. In 2015, his door attendant Joe was murdered. Jorberg has told Smile 90.4FM that he is now living abroad as a nomad and feels safer.
Here is a link to the full Carte Blanche 'Extortion City' episode on the Beerhouse murder:https://t.co/vnWAWOQyfD
via @carteblanchetv #atBEERHOUSE #RIPJoe #racketeering #extortion #ExtortionMustEnd— Randolf 💛 Jorberg (@YellowRandolf) July 31, 2024
“Starting 2 days after opening in 2013, continuing all the way to the murder in 2015, we were intimidated and threatened. Then we started paying the racketeers. Back then, it was Mark Lifman’s guys. Later it turned to Nafiz Modack and when I started speaking out about this during lockdown, while being in safety and travelling in Europe, it happened that my staff and I received death threats, and I no longer returned to Cape Town. I stayed away for 2 years and 9 months.” said Jorberg.
READ MORE: Report extortion threats promptly
Jorberg explained that he decided to stay silent about matters, after his business partner was threatened in 2022.
“I realised now that I need to sell and exit this business and I went very public by speaking out about the murder which aired a week ago. There is no point in continuing to trade so we are closing Beerhouse for good,” explained Jorberg. The 43-year-old added that the business was no longer lucrative.
He still refers to Cape Town as his home. He is now calling on the new Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to bring an end to extortion, as a high number of business owners are forced to pay protection fees in order to operate.
Revellers have until Saturday 3 August to visit the bar for one last time.
