eThekwini serves wipe out to Surf Riders beachfront eatery
The waves have come crashing down on popular Durban eatery Surf Riders Cafe after eThekwini municipality cancelled its lease.
The restaurant run by well-known local chef Samantha Small-Shaw, whose eclectic menu offers a range of meals from pizzas, pastas and burgers to seafood, crab curry and poke bowls, received a notice to vacate from the director of the municipality’s property valuation and management department on September 1.
Established in 2012, the lease expired in March 21 2019, and the owner, Jason Caradas, continued operating on a month-to-month basis.
However, in the letter, the owner was given a month’s written notice to leave the premises in South Beach, with a threat to face legal action if it was not returned to the municipality in good condition.
In a notice of the closure on its social media page on Tuesday, the restaurant said: “We have had to close our Surf Riders South Beach restaurant. Not all is lost; we are still trading well in both our Cabana Beach resort restaurant and our Umhlanga Boulevard store. Looking forward to seeing you all there, enjoying our hospitality and great food.”
Small-Shaw said while it was “very sad” the South Beach restaurant had closed, all the staff had been moved to the branch at the Cabana’s hotel in Umhlanga which opened with much fanfare in June 2025 with an updated menu.
She said the original restaurant was very popular among locals and tourists and particularly dog lovers as it was pet friendly.
“We have expanded the kitchen and there are more people employed now. So in a way some good has come from a bad thing,” she said.
In 2023, the municipality gave notice to vacate to several beachfront restaurants and entertainment businesses as part of a business development strategy.
At the time, the head of the city’s real estate unit, Thapelo Mmusinyane, said 25 properties were advertised between May 2021 and last November.
“Ten awards were made to new lessees. All 10 awards were made to companies that are 100% owned by historically disadvantaged individuals,” he said.
The city said the strategy, adopted in September 2021, enables the municipality to be proactive in alienating surplus land, helping the city to achieve its developmental objectives, stimulate economic activity and BEE, as well as promote economic transformation in the property sector.
Patrons, however, were appalled by the news of the restaurant’s closure, saying it didn’t bode well for tourism on the Durban promenade, and criticised the municipality.
One social media user posted: “Very sad news, Durban’s loss for sure. I don’t know how I’m going to tell my daughter who absolutely loves Surf Riders South Beach, and we have had many a birthday party there and many breakfasts. The staff is always so friendly. Lifetime family memories. We will continue to support wherever we can.”
“They keep doing this to white-owned businesses leasing municipal properties. They close them down with big promises to outdo the current operation and then nothing happens and the properties are unused and become derelict. It’s obvious what’s happening and no one stands up to them about this,” said another user.
“eThekwini Municipality sometimes feels like the Seven Deadly Sins brought to life — pride without accountability, greed with public money, lust for power, contracts and public businesses, envy driving political infighting, gluttony consuming resources, wrath from frustrated residents, and sloth when it comes to maintaining the city’s infrastructure and delivering services,” said one patron.