Restaurant 22°South closed – NamPort cancels lease agreement

The popular restaurant at the base of the Swakopmund lighthouse, 22° South, has closed its doors at the end of October after the lease agreement with the owner of the property, NamPort, was terminated. The restaurant owner, Silvio Magri, will still continue with the frozen food product line.

Initially the lease agreement between the Namibian Port Authority (NamPort) and the owner of 22° South was for a ten year period – and should have ended in 2020. Last year NamPort gave one year notice and terminated the lease. Magri closed the restaurant at the end of October. He did not get a reason why the lease was terminated though.
“The property in question has been identified as of strategic National interest. This resulted in the termination of the lease agreement,” the Corporate Communications Officer at NamPort, Jo-Ann Stevens, said to namib times. She added that the property under question will not be available for leasing in future. “It will no longer be available to the public, or to any private individual.”
Magri ran the restaurant 22° South for six years, before that there used to be an established coffee shop. The property was especially popular with tourists and locals alike in part due to the atmosphere and the spectacular view it offered over the Mole area. “It was a beautiful place. We revamped it nicely for the restaurant,” Magri said.
Since the closure Magri has since continued with his frozen food products, which are readily available at supermarkets across the country. The handmade frozen Pizzas, which can quickly be warmed up in the oven, are produced in a warehouse in the Swakopmund industrial area. Now he intends to expand the frozen product range to include amongst others like Goulash or Ravioli with a cheese sauce. “We are also working on desserts like Tiramisu but this that is still in the pipeline,” he said.
Magri was in the meantime forced to retrench his staff of 14 people. “It is quite sad. We never got a reason why the lease was terminated,” he said.
What does NamPort intend to do with the property in future? “Further utilisation will be discussed with all relevant stakeholder(s) and government bodies,” was the answer.