Entrepreneur Zietsman raises the bar
Empangeni resident’s sports bar has become a household name in London.
LEAVING Empangeni to pursue his dream of becoming a business owner has paid off for Eugene Zietsman.
He recently scooped the New Business of the Year award at the South African Chamber of Commerce UK Awards ceremony.
Zietsman, who left Zululand in 2002, moved to Pretoria where he was employed in the finance industry.
He later moved overseas and travelled between the UK, Dubai and South Africa.
After deciding to settle down in London in 2012, Eugene established a sports bar and restaurant called GJ’s, which has gone from strength to strength.
‘It has been trial and error. I don’t ever work behind my own bar. I manage the business on a higher level. I pay the bills, I do the marketing and the strategising,’ he said.
Aside from serving as a social hub for locals in Wandsworth, GJ’s has also become a popular venue for hosting some of SA’s famous personalities and sportsmen.
Zietsman plans to expand his business by providing additional services for his customers.
‘I am buying transporter buses to shuttle people from train stations to and from my bar. I will charge them £5 (R92.55) and they get a free beer, so the transport will only effectively cost £1. At the end of the evening clients will be transported to the main hubs.
‘Among other things, I have five bedrooms in my bar upstairs which I am busy converting to rent out,’ he said.
