3 Cape Town Restaurants Offer “Come In” Policy for Anyone Feeling Unsafe

Three restaurants in Cape Town, South Africa, have started a brilliant campaign of inviting anyone feeling unsafe to come into their restaurants to seek shelter and feel safe, without any pressure to order anything.

The warm and welcoming initiative was announced on Wednesday by The Raptor Room who wrote their post with a “sore heart”. Soon La Mouette and Upper Bloem Restaurant joined in, coining it the #comein policy, and inviting other businesses and restaurants to join in… to help offer more safe havens to South Africans who have been left reeling after a spate of recent murders and crime.

The Raptor Room said it is with a “sore heart” that they come to work and look at friends and family mourning and that their “hearts are broken for all the womxn and children in this country that has been made to feel like less, like nothing”.

“As a business that is owned by womxn and staffed by 80% womxn, our hearts are broken and we are angry. Angry for all of the angels who will not see tomorrow because a man thought of her so little, he took her light away,” said the Raptor Room.

They ended their message:

If you are ever walking in the street close to us and you feel unsafe,
just come inside. You don’t need to buy anything.
If you are here and you need to walk to your car alone, ask us to walk with you to make sure you are safe.
If you are ever in our space and you don’t feel safe, please tell us.
We are tired, but we are strong.
And we will fight. ✊?❤️ #AmINext #EnoughIsEnough

A couple of hours later La Mouette and Upper Bloem Restaurant posted these messages to their social media timelines:

“It is a tough time for our beloved Cape Town this week. There are no words left, only the actions that define us.

“Both La Mouette and Upper Bloem Restaurant want to follow The Raptor Room’s example and initiate a #comein policy. If you are in our area in Sea Point or Green Point and you feel in any way unsafe, please COME IN – we will wait with you for your Uber, taxi or friends or one of us will walk with you to your car if needs be.

“Enough is enough.

“We request other business owners to follow suit and join #comein – let’s make Cape Town safer for all to enjoy our beautiful city and surrounds.”

#ThankYou #TheRaptorRoom #UpperBloemRestaurant #TeamLaMouette #MakingSASafer #ComeIn #EnoughIsEnough #AmINext