Sushi king Kenny goes low-key
Nightclub owner and entrepreneur Kenny Kunene alights from a ZAR-branded car outside his club at the Cape Royale Hotel in Green Point. With him is singer Colinecia Hawka, who is launching her singing career under Kunene's guidance. Nightclub owner and entrepreneur Kenny Kunene alights from a ZAR-branded car outside his club at the Cape Royale Hotel in Green Point. With him is singer Colinecia Hawka, who is launching her singing career under Kunene's guidance.
After all the eating of sushi off naked models, after all the headlines, after all the ANC angst about Julius Malema and his trumped-up nightclub challenges to Helen Zille, the opening of ZAR was the anti-climax of the year.
It was supposed to be Cape Town’s biggest event on the party scene, but owner Kenny Kunene went for a far more low-key angle last night than at the club’s pre-launch last month.
The King of Sushi and the ANC Youth League president recently made headlines when Kunene hosted the pre-launch of ZAR at Cape Town Studios on the night of the J&B Met.
In his welcoming speech, Malema challenged Western Cape Premier Helen Zille about the province’s decision to close clubs at 2am.
Malema and ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa were just a few of the invited guests who did not turn up last night when ZAR Lounge celebrated its opening at the Cape Royale Hotel.
Despite their absence, the club was packed to capacity by midnight.
Kunene hopes Cape Town’s ZAR will follow in the footsteps of the Joburg ZAR, which is at the top of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sandton. There, many BEE types spend up to R100 000 on expensive cognac and imported whiskies. It is also the venue where Kunene first achieved notoriety for eating sushi off a half-naked model.
Last night, the media descended on the new nightclub hoping to catch a politician or celebrity in a compromising position. Instead, they were given a performance by a young singer from Paarl, Colinecia Hawka, who Kunene introduced as the first artist in his new business venture as a record executive.
While she lip-synced her two songs, Kunene stuck close to her, clearly in the hope that their association would bring her fame and him more fortune.
In the meantime, his business partner, Gayton McKenzie, ensured that the club ran smoothly and the service was impeccable.
The club itself is not as ostentatious as its sister establishment in Sandton. With a capacity of 250 people, the ZAR Lounge Cape Town was hoping to attract not just BEE types but also tourists and rich people across the colour line, Kunene said .
During the opening, a video was played in which Kunene and McKenzie drove around Gugulethu in their white Lamborghini, handing gifts to the underprivileged.
In a speech to guests, Kunene spoke about the negative effects of tik and also said he would not allow women in with jeans and no men would be allowed in wearing a dilapidated T-shirt. ZAR was officially opened today as of 11am.