Retro Pickers

Thursday's Crawl was one of those where we actually had to do some crawling around town before we ended up at the coffee shop of the week.  The first three shops we tried were either: 1) closed for renovations, 2) not open until the afternoon, or 3) not even a coffee shop (bad tip on that one).  After shop #2 was a bust and in our effort to find a place to rest our weary bones, we were tempted to take up an offer to stop by the garage near the Builders Express on Main Rd in Walmer for their Nescafe and Koeksister Special!  ... Maybe another time.

Finally, at about 10:00 we happened upon Retro Pickers, a Vintage and Coffee Shop that opened just a few months ago.  It's funny that when I got home after the Crawl on Thursday I read Firefly's new comment on the Fresco post suggesting that we try Retro Pickers!  Firefly, you must have been sending telepathic messages to us as we were seeking out a shop to visit.... thanks!

Retro Pickers, located at 152 Main Road in Walmer, is a cute little shop adjacent to the Scrapbook Nook... and it is way more than your average coffee shop.  Owner Tersia Muston also offers make-up parties and on-site photo shoots as well as a huge variety of vintage items for sale.  Tersia acts as cook, barista and waitron of the coffee shop while doing all the vintage shop buying/selling as well.  On top of all that responsibility she is also the make-up artist for the parties and the photographer at the photo shoots.  Wow... talk about the ultimate "Jill" of all trades!!!  Credit must be given, too, to Tersia's Guy Friday, Louis, who is there to assist  at the shop.
Well, the Crawlers weren't at Retro Pickers for a make-up party, a photo shoot, or to shop for vintage items, so on to more info about the coffee shop.

Meet the Owner
Tersia Muston

 

"Guy Friday"
Louis



The first thing that caught my attention was the sign at the entrance advertising Giant Cupcakes.  "Now," I thought, "this is my kind of place!"  Unfortunately, no one else was up for sharing what ended up being a "Monstrous" Cupcake.  I may return one day when I'm starving and just order one for myself.... and hit the gym later.  Besides the Giant Cupcake and the usual breakfast/lunch fare Tersia specializes in gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free items.  I know a lot of people who will be happy to hear about that!



Regular sized cupcake on the left!



As for the coffee, Tersia has come up with her own secret House of Coffees blend that she uses for all her coffee beverages.  Retro Pickers is a small shop that seats twelve inside and fourteen outside.  It's the perfect setting for a quiet cup of coffee right in the middle of Walmer.  The shop's hours are Mon-Fri, 9-5 and Sat, 9-3.

So, after our unplanned tour of PE, the Crawlers were way ready for some coffee and conversation.  This week's Crawlers included two first-timers.  Joining us on Thursday were Beth's granddaughter, Amy Crankshaw, and Fran's daughter, Mandy de Beer, both visiting PE on holiday.  Welcome Amy and Mandy!  Rounding out Thursday's group were Crawlers Stella and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, June Nash, Nomusa Nkomo, Colleen LeRoux, Fran de Beer, and Beth Vieira. 

This week's Crawlers
Amy, Beth, Colleen, June, Gail,
Beryl, Stella, Nomusa, Mandy, Fran

Our discussion at the table started with music and osteopathy?!?  Okay, a brief explanation... if you're a regular reader of this blog, you know we are a group of individuals with varying backgrounds and interests.  It happened that in our newcomer introductions we learned that Mandy is an osteopathic practitioner and Amy is a Cape Town University music student....hence, the unlikely conversation combo... only at the Crawl!

The discusison then moved on to the National Arts Festival being held in Grahamstown (June 28-July 8).  Colleen said she was planning to see the ballet, "Giselle," performed by the SA National Ballet at the Festival the next day.  (Colleen, Lou and I saw it on Saturday night... it was awesome... hope you enjoyed it as well!).

And, one more Coffee Crawl comes to an end.  Despite the shaky start we managed to pull off another success!  Thanks team!!!

~Thank you to Tersia and Louis for their hospitality
~Happy Birthday to my daughter, Lizzy - July 6.  Glad to hear your power has been restored after the big
  storm in D.C.
~Happy 4th of July to all my readers in the States!!!!  
~A note to Crawler Margaret Zoetmulder... we miss you at the Crawl... hope you're enjoying Wimbledon!

Until next week,

Ellen