Durban - Tenants and the management at uShaka Marine World’s Village Walk are at each other’s throats over their music choices.
While one tenant, a coffee shop, hates the “adult contemporary” played by the management “at high volume” over the public address system, the owner of a neighbouring toy shop has complained that the coffee shop’s “instrumental, classical and slow-paced music” is putting his staff to sleep.
The coffee shop, in turn, has accused toy shop employees of disrupting business by playing “blaring hip hop and dance music”.
The issue went legal this week when Torivista Pty Ltd, trading as Maestro Continental, made an urgent application in the Durban High Court seeking orders against the owners of the beachfront tourist attraction, Durban Marine Park Society Ltd and tenant Once Upon a Toy.
But the merits of the matter were not debated after Judge Esther Steyn struck the application from the roll, ruling it was not urgent, and that Maestro had no right to try to jump the queue of litigants.
In her affidavit Maestro director Liliano Otto said she and her husband, Kruben Benni, had signed the lease for their coffee shop in September 2014 allowing them to trade from the middle of the walkway between the car park and the theme area. She said ambience was all important “and we wanted to create an inviting feeling to entice people”.
“We did this in various ways including having a visible children’s play area, comfortable seating and ensuring that food on tables is aesthetically pleasing.
“We have been successful and management have thanked us several times for the effort we have put in.”
She said right from the start there had been issues with the music played over the public address system because two speakers were right above the coffee shop and there were issues with volume control when, at times, it was turned to maximum.
“Our patrons could not handle this. We raised this several times. Eventually, in November 2015, the speakers were turned off and we could play our own music.”
Business did well during that time and patrons often asked about the music being played, she claimed.
Otto said employees of Once Upon a Toy then began playing their loud club music on a sound system at the entrance to their shop.
“We have an acrimonious relationship with the owner. It seems he was just trying to annoy me and disrupt my business because the mall music had been disconnected and he did not like my music,” she said.
The toy shop owner was instrumental in starting a petition asking for the return of the “mall music” and once the volume issue was rectified by the management, it was re-connected.
When they asked that the speakers above them be switched off, the management refused and “the mall music now competes with our music which is exacerbated by the music from the toy shop”, she alleges.
Otto said she expected to lose business because of it.
In a letter attached to the court papers, uShaka's attorneys tell Maestro’s attorneys that when they leased the open restaurant they were aware of the speakers, the volume “glitch” had been attended to and “you have no cause for complaint”.
“You complain that your turnover dropped but you don’t furnish us with figures... all tenants have experienced a drop in turnover because it is winter and out of season,” the letter says.
In his affidavit, toy shop owner Altaaf Suleman denied playing music at excessive volumes.
“It is important to create a pleasant and jovial atmosphere not only for patrons but for employees. My employees tell me the coffee shop’s music is boring and likely to put them to sleep,” he said.
“When the mall music was stopped, it was very noticeable and I started the petition.”
The Mercury