KNYSNA NEWS - After five years, the saga surrounding the premises at the base of Knysna's East Head which formerly housed the Senza Restaurant seems to finally be over. 

In an ordinary council meeting held last Wednesday, 29 June, the Knysna Council resolved to award the tender to lease the property to Mossel Bay-based company, Caroline 31.

The municipality had received four bids in response to the tender it issued for a long-term lease agreement for Erf 1406, which houses the old Senza building. Two bidders were from Knysna and one from Bloemfontein.

Caroline 31's proposed bid for the building included a rental fee of

R71 258,54 per month over 20 years - higher than the market price at which the property was valued by an independent valuer (R56 000).

Part of the agreement is also the granting of a six-month rental grace period for Caroline 31 to allow them to make necessary repairs to the building as well as any upgrades needed to get it up and running.

These repairs and upgrades will come at no cost to the municipality, according to the agenda for last week's council meeting, but will be for the account of the successful bidder (Caroline 31).

In the company's proposed bid an extensive plan to conduct repairs and upgrades to the building was laid out, adding up to

R14 928 350,63. This includes a proposed R4,5m upgrade and furnishing of the interior, as well as R1 885 369,45 to "use new recyclable eco-friendly products to clad the outside building". However, not all of the roughly R15-million upgrades will be made immediately.

"This [upgrades] will be done over a period of time, we won't be carrying out the whole project at once," said Albert Wiffen, one of the directors of Caroline 31. "We will of course do what we need to do to get the building up and running and operational, but from there we will carry out phases of the project as funding becomes available."

According to Wiffen, Caroline 31 has a wealth of experience as it currently owns and operates 10 restaurants in the Garden Route. Wiffen expressed their excitement for the upcoming project in Knysna: "We're really looking forward to it, we're very excited to have this opportunity as we know what the building means to the community".

Part of the proposed plan is the addition of an information kiosk "with tour guides that can answer questions regarding the compelling history of the estuary and the fascinating birdlife, unique marine protected area inhabited by South Africa's plant and animal life." Caroline 31 aims to have the restaurant up and running within six months of the signing of the lease, which has not yet taken place. A name for the new restaurant is also yet to be finalised.

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