[imagesource: Getty]

In 1920, America’s Prohibition began, not only putting the squeeze on the booze industry, but taking a much broader toll on the American economy.

Sound familiar?

It’s a new century and we’re once again in the 20s, only this time the prohibition is in South Africa, with the continued ban on the sale of alcohol taking its toll on those in the alcohol manufacturing industry, suppliers of goods used to bottle and label the product, and those whose businesses rely heavily on the sale of alcohol, such as restaurants, bars, and bottle stores.

As with the original prohibition, desperate times have called for desperate measures, and for some establishments, similar measures have been taken to keep the booze flowing along with the revenue that they need to stay afloat.

There has been much talk about the ban on the sale of alcohol, as well as tobacco, ending as soon as this week, but as of yet, nothing has been officially announced.

Reuters spoke to the owner of a restaurant in Johannesburg, whose customers order a red or white cup of “coffee”, receiving instead a mug of wine.

“Am I happy with what I’m doing? No,” said the bistro owner, who asked not to be named, adding that alcohol sales had saved him from firing half a dozen staff.

“They’ve turned everybody into criminals.”

Restaurant workers and owners have been among those hit hardest by the ban on alcohol sales, with many taking to the streets last month to protest under the banner #JobsSaveLives.

Meanwhile, the restrictions, first implemented in March, on the sale of alcohol have spawned a thriving underground trade, complete with bootleggers and online traders offering doorstep delivery.

Pineapple sales and prices are also suspiciously high. 

When restaurants were allowed to reopen for sit down customers, a number of them decided to join the illicit trade.

Just doors down from the Italian bistro, Reuters found at least two more restaurants flouting the ban, seating drinkers in back rooms or serving wine in bottles labelled “non-alcoholic”.

News24 conducted their own investigation into the revival of the speakeasy, finding a number of establishments in Joburg serving bottles of wine disguised in teapots. To complete the ruse, waiters were serving the ‘tea’ with sachets of sugar.

You can read the full story here, complete with a video – it’s behind a paywall, but paying R75 a month for access to exclusive content on the country’s largest news site seems fair.

Back to Reuters:

“You’re locked up in one space,” said one drinker, who asked not be named, served wine from a bottle labelled “non-alcoholic” at a tapas bar down the road from the Italian bistro.

“The main reason for buying alcohol is just to kind of regain some of those moments of just letting loose.”

While the ban did help to ease the pressure on the healthcare system, freeing up beds for COVID-19 patients, it’s time for a more workable plan to come into effect.

Let’s hope that the ban is soon lifted, and it’s not too late to save an industry that has been brought to its knees.

[source:reuters&news24]