Cherry Place

I'm starting this week's post with an explanation... I don't know what the problem was with the pics for The Garden Cafe post last week but I just couldn't get them attached to the text.  After a few days of trying I was finally able to get a couple of pics on.  Unfortunately, the garden and group pics still refuse to cooperate.  I'll keep trying.  If I continue to have problems with today's post I may have to enlist the help of Firefly.... again!

So, onto this week's Crawl.  We had a small group this week with Crawlers, Leanne Waller and her son, Daniel (from Kids Who Care Coffee Shop fame!), June Nash, Beth Vieira, and Fran and Keith de Beer, joining me at Cherry Place, 161 Heugh Rd. in Walmer.  We were greeted by two very personable staff members, waiter, Wayne, and barista, Bongi.  Now one of the first things I noticed, as our table was being set, was that with so many cars in the parking lot there were very few people in the cafe.  We found out why shortly after our coffees were served. 



Meet the Manager
Desre Kilian



It turns out that Cherry Place is more a venue for conferences than a coffee shop.  As we were enjoying our very hot, very strong Rio Africa Sumatran coffees, a large conference group entered the shop for their mid-morning break.  We found ourselves sitting amidst a crowd of hungry/thirsty people who had probably been sitting quietly in their meeting for a number of hours.  Needless to say, we felt a bit awkward, but toughed it out.  It was quite hectic and, unfortunately, I had no opportunity to take a group photo.  After the conference group reconvened we all felt the need to depart as well.  Just before I left I spoke with manager, Desre Kilian, who told me that the cafe is open to the public but is not the primary business on the premises.  Cherry Place's main focus is their conference center.  They also provide a venue for private and corporate functions and corporate team building events.  They operate a small guest house on the property as well.  The group of building and businesses is much larger than it appears form Heugh Rd.  As for the coffee shop, they offer a full breakfast/lunch menu but, as Desre said, the cafe is not top priority.  It is used mainly as a lunch and am/pm break area for conference attendees.



Meet the Barista and our Waiter
Bongi and Wayne



Cherry Place, with their beautiful facilities, is definitely worth considering for your next private or corporate event.  However, if you want to chat with friends over coffee there are plenty of other great coffee shops/cafes all over PE.  I'm on #37 and counting...

Given the circumstances, conversation at the table was limited.  We had a brief discussion of Michener's  books including The Covenant which, yes, I am still reading (as of this posting I'm on p. 692 of 1238).  Good luck with it, Fran.  In keeping with the literary theme, we talked about the Shakespeare plays we read in high school.  My favorite to teach when I was in NY was the bloodbath that is Macbeth.  A painting of Cape Recife on the wall turned our conversation to ocean tides.  Everyone seems to have a good high tide story.

Daniel enjoying his bubblegum flavored milkshake!

Keith was unable to share his useless fact with the group but told me as we were leaving that an ostrich's eyeball is the size of a billiard ball and the same size as its brain.  I will refrain from making some smart-ass comment regarding eyeball/brain size, Keith!

Rugby World Cup update - It's France vs. New Zealand in the finals on Sunday.  Looks like rugby fans here are split down the middle with regard to their favorite to win.  I will be cheering for the NZ All Blacks.

Oyster Catcher update - I called Craig Joyce (see The Garden Cafe post) to make a reservation for opening night.  Craig has moved the opening from Tues. to Wednesday (the 26th).  Be sure to change your plans accordingly and hope to see you there.

Thank you to Wayne and Bongi for being so welcoming.

Thank you to Desre for all the info on the Cherry Place businesses. 

Until next week,

Ellen