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Cape Town institution Panama Jacks asked to leave the port

Known for its seafood and charming fisherman’s setting, Panama Jacks at Table Bay Harbour in Cape Town has been told to leave the port after nearly 28 years of business.

The restaurant, which is considered by some locals and tourists as one of the Mother City’s best-kept secrets, has been operating from the same harbour location on the foreshore since 1989.

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Manager Liat Pittaway explained to Eat Out that the port authorities, who have been unavailable to comment, have been in discussions with the Panama Jacks team with the complaint that the restaurant business is not a port-related activity, despite its history in the location.

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Liat went on to issue a passionate plea to the authorities not to boot the establishment from its home. “The unusual harbour location is one of the reasons we are always so busy, and I can’t understand why the port can’t have a mixed area for both port activities as well as well as businesses such as ours, especially considering the amount of business we do,” she said.

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While it’s not 100% set in stone that Panama Jacks will be leaving the area, the owners are investigating other locations as they don’t want to lose their loyal following or close up shop for good. “Relocating will be a huge cost to us, and to replicate our quirkiness in another area will be incredibly hard to do. We really don’t want to move,” says Liat.

Stay tuned to Eat Out for further developments.

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