Happy faces will no longer be seen and the sound of laughter will be not heard at The Shed.
The popular restaurant on Biggar Street shut-shop on Friday after a three-year battle to obtain a liquor license.
The bureaucracy has cost owner, Lorraine ‘Vlooi’ Slabbert, money and plenty of heart-ache – the biggest was telling her six employees the news that they no longer have jobs.
The Shed officially opened on Father’s Day last year.
However, it was two years earlier that Vlooi had first applied for a liquor license. She says she ‘jumped through all the hoops’ in a long-winded process that involves obtaining permission from local residents, the Liquor Board, the police and a myriad of other processes.
However, the magic piece of paper that would allow The Shed to serve liquor has still not been delivered from the Durban office of the KZN Liquor Board. The long wait has meant that the business is no longer viable.
“There were no objections from those living in this area and an inspection by the authorities in terms of what we had to comply with gave us the all clear. This is in terms of distance from churches and schools and the layout of the restaurant,” Vlooi told the Courier.

Patrons had been allowed to bring their own liquor and pay a corkage fee that would allow them to enjoy a glass of wine, beer or something stronger with their meal or at the smartly turned-out Rhodesian teak bar.
“However, the police have told us now that B.Y.O. is not applicable in KZN. Apparently, it is in other provinces but not here. Therefore, we have no option to close.” For Vlooi, a business lady who has always been involved in dynamic ventures, The Shed was her ‘dream and baby’.

It was a sad day too for patrons who loved coming to The Shed, sitting at the shiny bar after work to meet friends, enjoy one of the drinks they had brought along, order a snack, listen to the oldies on LM Radio that was always on and enjoy the view of the quarry and golf club from the balcony.
However, Vlooi did not rule out a ‘re-opening’ should the Liquor Board in Durban suddenly decide to issue the license. However, appeals to lawyers have up until now all fell on deaf ears and have been lost in red tape… so for now, The Shed will be silent.