Shortly after we all arrived at Zest our hostess/waitress, Bianca, served up our orders and I had an opportunity to have quite a chat with Zest's owner, Jakes Reeder. Jakes told me that Zest has been in business at its present location in the Times Square Shopping Centre on Heugh Rd. in Walmer for seven years. He is very enthusiastic about his shop and his enthusiasm carries over to his staff.... a great group of people! Jakes wants his shop to exude a trendy but relaxed atmosphere and reach a "wide spectrum" of customers from young families to business people to retirees. He has achieved this goal by having a defined but subtle black/white decor, a breakfast/lunch/dinner menu to suit all tastes (including quite a selection of smoothies!), and extended hours seven days a week. Zest has inside and outside seating (for approx 100 patrons) with lounge areas, booths, and tables... something for everyone.
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| Meet the Owner Jakes Reeder |
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| Meet the Baristas Tim and Tyler |
It has been very hot here in PE recently (even first thing in the morning) so Thursday's Crawlers, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, June Nash, Leanne Waller, Margaret Zoetmulder, Nomusa Nkomo, Fran and Keith de Beer, Prudie Brown, Colleen LeRoux and Beth Vieira, chose a table inside in air-conditioned comfort to enjoy their tea, smoothies, Illy brand specialty coffees or Masterton's Cameo filter coffee. Baristas-in-training, Tyler and Tim had no problem keeping up with the onslaught of orders from the Crawlers. Kudos to the Zest staff!
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| This Week's Crawlers Keith, Fran, Beryl, Gail, Leanne, Nomusa, Stella, Colleen, June, Margaret, Bianca, Prudie, Beth |
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| Nomusa's "Berry Healthy" smoothie |
Since we hadn't Crawled for three weeks there was not a shortage of things to discuss at the table on Thursday. With so much to talk about it's hard to choose what to include in this post but I'll have to go with the topic of phobias. Acrophobia (fear of heights) and entomophobia (fear of insects) topped the list of the Crawlers' fears. As a matter of fact, these are two of the most common phobias world-wide. Unfortunately for me, both these fears of mine have been pushed to the limit more than once in my time here exploring SA. I hear that phobias can be cured through hypnosis..... but I'm afraid to do that.... (Yeah, you saw that one coming!) Anyway, one good thing that came out of the phobia discussion... I got a great recommendation for a local pest control guy from Leanne! He was at my home bright and early on Friday morning to take care of all those creepy crawlies wreaking havoc in my living space! Now Lou doesn't have to hear my screams as I am walking around the house.
~Thank you to Jakes for taking the time to chat with me about Zest.
~Thank you to Bianca, Tyler and Tim... you all did a wonderful job!
~Thank you to Leanne (my husband thanks you, too!) for the bug guy recommendation
~Thank you to Clinton..... the bug guy!!!!!!!
Here's to another year of PE Coffee Crawling..........
Until next week,
Ellen
Hi Ellen. Been lurking and looking, and enjoying the memories your "crawling" evokes! I was in PE in March for my niece's wedding to Jakes Reeder of Zest! Sitting outside, enjoying the sunny weather under those brollies, alongside my rellies from Durban, PE and Texas - your pics put a big smile on my face. I lived in Grahamstown and PE in the early 80s, and March was my first visit to the region since then. Wow, was I in for a shock!!! Essentially the city hasn't changed overall, but it definitely has a different vibe since those happy and wild years living there. I had lived on the Donken in one of those 1820 settler homes which sadly have been left to rot away. I would love to return one day, camera in hand, to capture the essence of those special houses. Your tips on getting lessons is something I aim to take on board. Now I'm living in sunny Queensland, Australia. Meantime I am going to avidly follow your crawls around all the coffee hot spots in PE! It's worth noting that my favourite 'tipple' is a Chai Latte...and I couldn't find one anywhere in SA!! I found it quite funny that no-one had ever heard of it. I'll bet you too are missing those great coffees in the US?! LOL Best with the crawls in the new year...and happy belated Thanksgiving! Hx
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