Finding venues – and the hosts to fill them!

How OpenSeat is launching in Cape Town and beyond

OpenSeat is an online platform that originated in Durban but which is now expanding to other cities in South Africa. We enable anyone to host and/or attend meals and events in-person, at any venue; our niche focus is on the intersection of good food, good conversations, and meaningful social connection.

In looking for venues, we are focusing on those which are best suited to provide the exclusive atmosphere and facilities required for more intimate, small-scale experiences of hospitality and social connection. Thus we are interested in cafes (after the doors have officially closed) as well as other unused tables in venues like galleries, church halls, schools, and so on. Each venue's space, with its distinctive features, will be ideal for certain kinds of events: our goal as we grow the database is to connect venues with the right hosts (and their guests), helping the former fill seats & tables in times when they would otherwise be empty and unproductive. 

If you know of any potential venues which are usually empty in the evenings, please tell them about OpenSeat; they can find our database questionnaire here, or if they’d prefer, schedule a chat with us.

Moreover, if you know anyone in your social or business network who might be interested in hosting meals, particularly when involving a theme, topic, art form, or conversation focus, please forward us their details or tell them about OpenSeat - we'd love to chat with them about hosting private and public events through our platform and potentially at your venue (if it suits their needs). 

Events like supper clubs, games nights, fundraising dinners, music gigs, lectures and talks, film screenings & discussions, and instructional workshops (e.g. bread-making) have all been successfully hosted through the OpenSeat platform previously.  

We've created a short 5-step 'How to Host an OpenSeat' guide here for prospective meal and event hosts who would like to try out the platform for themselves. The aim is that our platform genuinely makes hosting events easier - and so feedback about how we can improve is always welcome. 

Feel free to contact us at [email protected] or on the OpenSeat dedicated cell/WhatsApp number (+27) 069 504 5673. You're also welcome to schedule a Q&A chat regarding hosting or being a venue for hosts using OpenSeat.