Madame Zingara to open in The Company's Garden

It joins The Sidewalk Café, Café Mozart, Café Paradiso, The Bombay Bicycle Club and Café Manhattan.

"We are humbled and excited by the opportunity to transform this restaurant into a place where everyone can continue to enjoy this iconic space. We take the sense of community, heritage and cultural pride very seriously and will continue to take great care to involve the people of Cape Town in celebrating this public jewel. On this journey we have been very privileged to not only work on this exciting tender, but to gain an incredible amount of insight into the this beautiful city that we call home," says Richard Griffin, founder and creative director of Madame Zingara.

"We have a strong desire to protect the site and the restaurant will remain 100% inclusive to the city's people and its visitors; not only aesthetically, but on price point too. Every person who leaves this establishment will leave with a greater and enthused understanding of our city. We've followed design principals which have allowed an educational foundation to be brought to the community through interactive and playful elements.

"We will look to keep all staff currently employed by the existing operator. Our vision is to place an executive chef and restaurant manager and implement our successful Future Leaders Program. The current staff would be capacitated to grow, acquire new skills and ultimately lead through our skills program within the business itself. We would need to do the labour assessment prior to implementation; however, we have been able to retain all staff in similar acquisitions. While it is not always an easy route to take, we have seen the long-term benefits to the individuals and the group as a whole.

"The décor will be greatly influenced by the surrounding gardens and historical buildings - with a modern take," he concludes.

For more information, go to www.madamezingara.com.