By Silence Charumbira
PREMIER Rhumba club Chez-Ntemba which shut down about four months ago, is set to re-open on July 29 after the spot was taken over by new management.
Rhumba lovers will once again enjoy their favourite joint when the club situated at the upmarket Kopje Plaza.
The re-opening of the club will coincide with a special tribute to departed Rhumba greats such as Papa Wemba, Pepe Kale, Madilu System, King Kester Emeneya and Franco Luambo Makiadi.
Club manager William Munjoma said extensive renovations were underway which will cost up to around US$50 000 to come up with redecoration and a new setup to meet the new trends.
He however said talks were still underway to decide whether or not to maintain the old name of the club – Chez-Ntemba or come up with a new one.
“We are working tirelessly to make sure that we open on July 29; it will be a Friday, so it will be good for our clients to come and celebrate the re-opening with us,” said Munjoma.
He said the ground floor of the club will continue catering for Rhumba lovers while the first floor would be for RnB, house and dancehall lovers.
“DJs Ben (Rhumba Network) and Buzie-Maestro will take care of the Rhumba business while new DJs will be engaged for the other section. The DJs will be bringing in exciting concepts such as video mixing. We will also have a new VIP section to cater for our special clientele.
“Even those who want to celebrate their birthdays can come and we will be offering exciting free packages for such patrons. We will also be running a restaurant 24/7. Whereas the club used to open Friday and Saturday, we will now be operating from Wednesday to Sunday so it will be Rhumba throughout the week. This will be clubbing at another level, particularly for the mature crowd who do not want the noise in other places in town. Chez will be the place to be come July 29,” said Munjoma.
After Chez-Ntemba closed shop, Rhumba lovers were left with no permanent home and it seems other places who introduced Rhumba nights failed to capture the clientele for such particular music.
The ball lies in Munjoma’s court and the trendy patrons of Harare wait to see if the new Chez management will make the grade.
