Emily Thabang Leeuw, who shares with us the ups and downs of owning a shebeen and what fans can expect from her. Picture: Supplied
The first episode of “Shebeen Queens“, introduces the reality show that follows the lives of the bold women behind popular Soweto shebeens Alina’s Place, Big Mama’s Tavern, and Rams Tavern.
Emily Thabang Leeuw aka Big Mama and the owner of Big Mama’s Tavern, opened up about her life, her childhood and what fans can expect from her.
Leeuw shared that the shebeen has been running for nearly 20 years and she wants to leave a legacy behind for her family.
“This shebeen has been in the family for years. My mother ran it before she passed away.
“I officially obtained the required permit and licensing rights in 2004, so the business has been running for nearly 20 years.
“I want to leave a legacy for my family. Even though they haven’t shown much interest in the business, I’m grooming my children to take over when I retire. Eventually, I’d also like to expand and open a bottle store here.”
The shebeen queen shares her secrets of how she handles competition and what makes her business successful.
“The competition is there, but what keeps my business successful are my loyal customers and my trading hours. Unlike my competitors, I close shop at 2am instead of 10 pm. I’m willing to stay up late to gain an edge.“
Even though she runs a successful business, her relationship with her neighbours is not that great.
“There’s a lot of tension due to my trading hours, but I don’t care because this is how I take care of my loved ones.
“Every now and then, they’ll call the metro and report me for noise disturbance.”
Leeuw says that when she was asked to be a part of the reality show, she was shocked and tempted to say no, but eventually gave in after seeing how serious the production team was about bringing her on board.
She says that being surrounded by cameras all the time is not always easy for her.
“I adapted quickly to having cameras around. The hardest part is having to be vulnerable and exposing every aspect of my life.”
The Big Mama Tavern owner said that viewers can expect the truth, plenty of cussing and a whole lot of craziness from her.
Leeuw gives advice to young women who aspire to be in the same business as her. She says that to run a successful shebeen, you must be patient with your customers.
Treat your customers like family, take care of them but also know where to draw the line.
Catch new episodes of “Shebeen Queens” every Thursday on Showmax.
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