‘Will I go home with the table after?’ — Saint’s NYE R1m table spend has the streets in meltdown mode

The Christmas hangover may still be lurking, but many sobered up when they saw the minimum spend for tables at Saint Champagne Bar & Lounge this New Year’s Eve.

While some plan to welcome 2023 with a chilled beverage on the couch, or a braai with friends, others will heed the call of the groove and book tables at their fave spots.

If that spot is Saint Champagne Bar & Lounge in Cape Town, you may want to head to the bank for a loan.

The club recently announced the minimum spend for 10 of its tables for this weekend’s festivities, with the top table priced at a cool R1m.

“Book now,” it urged patrons.

A word of caution: If you do book, make sure you pay.

The club made headlines earlier this year when it threatened to name and shame those who had not paid their bills.

It urged people with amounts owed to either cough up or make payment arrangements,

The venue’s manager told TimesLIVE they had reached a point of desperation because some customers had owed them for six months and longer.

One patron owed R224,000 while others racked up bills of R150,000, R110,000 and R90,000.

“It’s the big guys, they want to show off. They drive expensive cars. They want to show people they have money but they can’t pay their bills

“We have been following up on the bills, calling and asking them to pay and getting only empty promises,” the manager said.

Social media was flooded with memes and hilarious reactions to the minimum spend for tables at the lounge, with some comparing it to the price of a three-bedroom house and joking about the tax man keeping an eye on the big spenders.