Travel Massive Visits Once in Joburg

In Africa rain is considered a blessing, and our first meet up in Johannesburg received more than its fair share. It poured. But here’s how we celebrated.

“Fortune favours the brave” and a great crowd with a number of new faces made it to our first event of 2017 hosted by The Once in Joburg at The Immigrant Bar, while Grants Whiskey provided a whiskey tasting.

The evening kicked off with a talk by Kim Whitaker, one of the founders of the Once Group and her remarkable entrepreneurial journey. Kim has one numerous entrepreneur awards and the Once Group are definitely more Poshtel than Hostel.

Similarly, Matt from The Immigrant gave a short talk on the founding of the Bar, some of the challenges they have faced and how it is now one of the must be places in trendy Braamfontein.

The Immigrant is all about Jozi and Braamfontein. It’s a place to mix and mingle, for eating, drinking, sharing and relaxing. Set up by the guys behind The Artisann in Joburg and closely linked to Once in Joburg hostel they serve good, easy food & drink all day.

Braamfontein is a commercially and culturally diverse business district comprising a mix of office blocks, student accommodation, restaurants, retail outlets, colleges, theaters, and hotels. Colloquially known as ‘Braamies’, it is the seat of the City of Johannesburg’s local government and is the home of South Africa’s Constitutional Court and a top South African university, the University of the Witwatersrand. An area with working class roots, in the early 1950s, when the center of Johannesburg declined, Braamfontein became the alternative metropolitan place to work and play. Braamfontein’s transformation from a rundown business district to a revamped Soho style neighborhood with chic hotels, art galleries, trendy bars clubs and restaurants, continues apace.

To see more images from the evening, check out the hashtag #TMOnceinJoburg.

Neil Jansson, co-organizer of Travel Massive in Johannesburg and startup founder at Wemvula, a community-based venture creator. His latest venture 24 Hours is aimed at assisting and promoting the Tourism and Hospitality industry Globally, as well as highlighting the extraordinary lives of the people behind it. Wemvula aims to help SMME’s with product development and innovative ways to ensure sustainability through joint ventures and strategic partnerships.