A toast to a man of excellence in service
BLACKHEATH – Restaurant raises its glass to a man that's been there for them over the last 41 years.
Thunder Gun applauds its long-time waiter and barman who is retiring after 41 years of service.
The well-known and loved local family restaurant will be bidding farewell to one of their most loved waiters/barman. Dougie Zulu has spent the last 41 years at the Thunder Gun serving and creating bonds and relationships with all those who walked through the doors of the restaurant.
Zulu arrived at Thunder Gun on 1 February 1978 in search of a job. “I had moved to the Transvaal to join my father who had a job in Emmarentia. Cresta Shopping Centre had just opened in 1977 and DF Malan Drive [as it was then known] comprised of just two lanes. I knocked on the door of the Thunder Gun restaurant in search of a job. The Gun, as it’s now known by its regulars, had opened 10 years previously and I was in luck,” Zulu said.
Zulu doesn’t plan on returning home to sit and do nothing as he still has a world of energy within him. Apart from the cattle and goats he is looking forward to returning to, he will also be working on his family’s photography and hiring business. According to Zulu the businesses are really thriving in the community as they are always getting booked for events such as wedding and parties.
The Nkandla-born Zulu had no idea that he’d found a place that would become his home for the next 41 years. He explained the roles he had during these 41 years, “I started out as a dishwasher in the scullery, I was soon promoted to the position of waiter and some years later, to barman. I held this position with pride for the past 28 years.”
Owner of Thunder Gun restaurant, Paul McNab said he and the team are sad to see Zulu leaving them but wish him all the best with his future journey. He said, “Dougie has been a familiar face in and around the Thunder Gun pub and forged great friendships with his customers. As Dougie pulls his last pint at the Thunder Gun this weekend, we will raise our glasses in his honour. Siyabonga Dougie, hamba kahle.”
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