From Book Cafe to The Volt

Arts reporter
Since end of May this year, the premises that used to house Book Café at number 139 Samora Machel Avenue became desolate. After years of providing good entertainment under challenging financial conditions, Book Café gave in to the strain and shut the doors of the huge facility that had become its home since moving from the original Five Avenue shopping centre establishment.

Many fun lovers have been complaining about the absence of a good outing place in town since Book Café closed down some months after Jazz 105 also shut its doors. Those who had found solace at Misty’s at Newlands shopping centre, which had an upmarket target like Book Café and Jazz 105, were also disappointed a few months ago when the venue was also closed.

Book Café proprietors have moved on with a new concept but their former venue has been transformed into a new spacious joint called The Volt. Renovations have been done to come up with a new place that has a slightly different target market.

If the spectacular new look of the venue is anything to go by, then The Volt is set to usher a new era of nightlife in the capital. The venue has incorporated the outside arena that used to run parallel to the Book Café as Pamberi Trust Garden, making it a combined set-up of indoor and outdoor facilities.

The official opening of The Volt is on tomorrow and the public will have access to the new place from Friday. Popular figure in upmarket entertainment, Spencer Madziya, who runs Platinum Entertainment, leads The Volt team and he promised lots of nightlife fun at the new venue.

“We call it The Volt because this place will definitely be full of entertainment power. We are confident that we will open a new chapter of entertainment in the city,” said Madziya.

“People have been complaining about the closure of many central venues in the city and we have come with a solution. It is true that most of the classy clubs and entertainment venues in the city centre have closed down and people have to drive many kilometres out of the CBD to get quality entertainment.

“We feel The Volt will be able to fill that gap and we are coming up with a programme that caters for people of various entertainment tastes. We will have shows in the garden during the week and weekends will provide a serious clubbing programme. We have a lot in store and from Friday the ball starts rolling and fun returns closer to the CBD.”