San Francisco Coffee Shop

Getting this post up just in time to share pics of the jack-o-lanterns compliments of my daughter, Liz and her friend, Rebecca....  
Happy Halloween everyone!!!

 

So, on to this week's post....
Just before my trip to the States last week the Crawlers and I met for our final October (2012) Crawl at San Francisco Coffee Shop.  October 18's Crawlers, Beth Vieira, Margaret Zoetmulder, Vicki Minnaar, Kathy Roppel, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Rebecca Marx, Fran and Mandy de Beer Nomusa Nkomo, Gail Darne, definitely needed a coffee break, what with all the torrential rain and frequent power outages we had been experiencing. The San Francisco staff's smiles, the excellent Pavin brand coffees (with free filter coffee refills!!!) along with the lavender that Vicki brought to share certainly lifted everyone's spirits.

Meet the San Francisco Staff
Celeste, Manager Cheron, Lisa

Meet the Barista
Gloria

San Francisco, located near the Pick N Pay Hyper Market in the William Moffet Retail Park, has been around for at least nine years.  The shop's owners were on vacation in Greece on Crawl day, but I had a chance to speak with manager Cheron and waitresses, Celeste and Lisa.  These three lovely ladies along with barista Gloria run the shop efficiently but in a relaxed manner.  San Francisco is a comfortable place where patrons can sit back and take time to enjoy coffee or a meal with friends without feeling rushed.

This Week's Crawlers
Beth, Margaret, Vicki, Kathy, Stella, Rebecca,
Mandy, Fran, Nomusa, Gail, Beryl

San Francisco has plenty of available seating with twenty tables inside and twelve tables on the outside patio.  The shop's menu features full breakfasts and lunches served seven days a week.  Hours are Mon-Fri, 8:30-6, Sat, 7:30-5, Sun, 8-3.  With all the stores there are at the William Moffet Retail Park, San Francisco is the perfect spot to stop before, during, or after your next shopping excursion.  I just wish I had known about the place before last Thursday!!!

So, as I left my house on Thursday for the Crawl, the power had been out for about sixteen hours.... AARRGGHH.......   Seeing my frustration with the situation, Crawler (and my next-door neighbor) Kathy Roppel handed me a sugar packet on which was printed Eleanor Roosevelt's famous quote, "It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."  Chuckling, I responded, "Yeah, that's coming from a woman way more patient than I will ever be but who probably experienced more than her share of power outages....... touche."  (By the way, the power was restorerd upon my return home.)

The rest of the conversation at the table consisted of a mish-mash of things.... the ramblings of people who, due to horrible weather, have been cooped up, sans electricity, for too long.  All in all, it was a necessary venting session for everyone.  By the time the Crawl was over, the sun was making an appearance for the first time in weeks, the wind had died down, ...... and all was right with the world. 

~Thank you to Cheron and the San Francisco staff
~Happy Guy Fawkes Day.... Remember, Remember, the 5th of November!!!

Until next week,

Ellen

The Market Cafe

Okay, so I was all set to post last night (probably the latest I've ever been) and the power went out (internet down)  ..... and stayed out for fifteen hours!!!... TIA.  Now, here I sit hoping the power stays on long enough to post last week's Crawl.

I thought it appropriate to begin this post with a quote I saw in the menu of last Thursday's Crawl site... "A cup of coffee shared with a friend is happiness tasted and time well spent."  Anon
My daughter, Liz, informed me that the very same quote hangs on the wall of the employees' break room of the Starbucks in D.C. where she once worked as a barista, though she remembers these profound words being attributed to someone whose name she doesn't recall.

Meet the Barista
Yoalnda

Anyway, last Thursday's Coffee Crawl was "time well spent" at The Market Cafe located inside the Fruit and Veg Market on the William Moffett Expressway in Charlo.  Thursday's Crawlers, Beth Vieira, June Nash, Rebecca Marx, my daughter, Liz, Nomusa Nkomo, Fran, Keith and Mandy de Beer, Vicki Minnaar, Beryl and Stella Dawson, Gail Darne, congregated to "taste some happiness" at this Fig Tree Comnplex shop.  The Market Cafe opened only a year ago and has become a popular rest stop for Fruit and Veg customers.  Though inside the Fruit and Veg store, the coffee shop is removed enough from the busy-ness of the store proper that it retains a cozy coffee shop feel.

The Market Cafe is a small shop, seating only about 32 people.... with twelve other Crawlers joining me on Thursday we took up more than a third of the available seats!  So, once our group was situated I took the opportunity to chat with our hostess/waitress/barista, Yolanda.  At first she was shocked to hear that The Market Cafe was #74 of the coffee shops we've visited in PE.  Then she commented, "Well, people gotta eat, man."  Yolanda proceeded to take our orders, prep the Sumatran brand coffees and deliver excellent beverages to the table.  There's certainly no moss growing under her feet!!!

The Market Cafe's menu includes breakfast (served all day) and lunch selections, a kids' menu, and quite a variety of hot and cold beverages.  The shop's hours are 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily.




This Week's Crawlers
Keith, Vicki, Nomusa, Beth, Fran, Mandy, Liz, Rebecca, Stella, June, Gail, Beryl


Last Thursday's Crawlers received a special treat when Beth brought her son and Crawler Angela's wedding album from their nuptuals in August.  Beautiful pics!!!
Liz and Rebecca then went on to tell some tales of their unusual experiences volunteering at SAMREC (South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre) at Cape Recife.  Rebecca even showed off a "war wound" in the form of a penguin bite!!!  Girls, we're all very proud of you in your wildlife conservation efforts.
Then, one of the strangest discussion topics at the Crawl, to date, ensued.....that being  the fear of driving under water, ie. in "The Chunnel" that runs under the English Channel, and the fear of driving under rock, ie. through the Lehigh Tunnel in PA or the Lincoln Tunnel in NY.  A favorite travel game among passengers in cars driving  through these mountain tunnels is attempting to hold your breath for the duration of the ride through the tunnel.  I've been in cars where the driver has attempted this feat as well, making for a harrowing few moments before the "light at the end of the tunnel!"  As for the Chunnel.... I don't think anyone has succeeded at the breath holding game on that drive!!!

I will be making another trip to the U.S. next week so no Crawl post for a short while.  I'm excited to see the beautiful fall foliage in Upstate NY.  Hopefully, when we return to SA Fruit and Veg will have some carving pumpkins just in time for Halloween.

~Thank you to Yolanda, our very busy hostess/waitress/barista
~Happy Birthday to Gail Taverner - Oct 18
~Happy Halloween (a bit early) to all - Oct 31

Until next time,

Ellen

News Cafe

Up to this point in the Coffee Crawl we have, for the most part, visited privately owned and operated shops, reserving the coffee chains/franchises for when we've exhausted all the others.  This past Thursday we made an exception with our Crawl to the News Cafe on the Boardwalk in Summerstrand.  Crawler Margaret Zoetmulder requested that we visit the shop since her daughter-in-law, Sandy, owns the franchise here in PE.  This particular News Cafe is not just the only one in PE, it is actually the only one in the entire Eastern Cape.  So, Thursday's Crawlers, Fran and Mandy de Beer, June Nash, Gail Darne, Margaret Zoetmulder, Beth Vieira, Colleen LeRoux, and Stella and Beryl Dawson, all made their way to the beachfront to enjoy some coffee and conversation.

Meet the Owner
Sandy Zoetmulder



Meet our Hostess/Waitress
Christy



 

This Week's Crawlers
Margaret, Beryl, Colleen, Stella, June, Gail, Fran, Beth, Mandy

The News Cafe is situated within view of the casino and directly across the walkway from Leonardo's Pizza and Pasta Workshop (excellent pizza served here by the way!) on the Boardwalk.  The Crawlers arrived shortly after the shop opened on Thursdsay morning.  Our hostess/waitress, Christy, seated us in a comfortable corner area of the spacious restaurant and presented us with menus that look and read like a daily newspaper.  After ordering our Danesi brand coffees, which would quickly and expertly be made by baristas Denzel and Howard, we all settled back to check out the menu that includes breakfasts (served all day), lunches (salads/burgers), full dinners/platters, snacks and desserts.  With the shop being open from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m. daily (including Christmas, New Years Day, all holidays) there's plenty of time and lots of opportunity to enjoy all that the News Cafe menu has to offer.  (A note to Jeff, Liz, and Chris L.-- we have to remember this the next time we come into PE on the late flight, starving, and can't find a place to eat!!!)

Meet the Baristas
Denzel and Howard

Before 10:00 a.m.

After 10:00 a.m.

The News Cafe accommodates about 220 people with seating inside (for those blustery days that PE frequently experiences) and outside (if you'd like to enjoy the beautiful spring flowers just popping up in the beds around the Boardwalk).  The shop is available to book for special events and functions.  Just call Sandy and she'll get you all sorted.

Now, as most PE residents know, there has been for quite a while, major construction work at the Boardwalk on the new Convention Centre.  The Centre is scheduled to open in December and should provide a significant financial boon to the Nelson Mandela Bay area.  This new addition to the PE skyline along with the impending new addition to the Nash/de Beer families dominated the conversation at the table on Thursday.  In celebration of both I ordered an Irish coffee for my second round.  No one elso was up for whiskey at 10:00 a.m. though.  While we still have to wait a few more months for the Convention Centre, the Nash baby made his debut the day after the Crawl.  Congratulations to David and Marie Nash on the birth of their son, Cayle, on Friday, Oct 5.  Congratulations also to Fran and Keith de Beer and June and Howard Nash, Cayle's proud grandparents, and Mandy de Beer, the new aunt!

~Thank you to Sandy, Christy, Denzel and Howard for providing the venue for Thursday's Crawl
~Thank you to Margaret for recommending the News Cafe
~Happy Birthday to my niece, Laura, in Millersville, PA - Oct 12

Until next week,

Ellen

Wezandla

Back in 2010 when Lou and I first arrived in PE we were introduced to Wezandla Gallery and Craft Centre located at 27 Baakens St. in Central (near The Herald and Feather Market Centre).  As it was my first African craft shopping experience I spent tons of time checking out all the jewelry, carvings, baskets and paintings, and failed to notice the coffee shop situated in the back of the store.  Had Lou seen that coffee and cakes were available I'm sure he would have taken a respite there while I shopped.  As a matter of fact, that is the exact reason why Glynis Baer, owner of Wezandla since 1994, opened the coffee shop on the premises in 1996.  In her words, "I opened the coffee shop in the store to entertain bored husbands."

Well, there were no bored husbands among the Crawlers on Thursday at Wezandla.  Gail Darne, Fran and Mandy de Beer, Rebecca Marx, Nomusa Nkomo, Stella and Beryl Dawson, and Margaret Zoetmulder all met at the store and spent a while perusing the wide selection (some by local artists) of paintings, craft items, books, CDs and clothing that Wezandla has to offer.  We could have spent all day looking around!

The Big Five

Soon, though, we were ready for some refreshments and found our way to the coffee shop area near the back of the store.  Our hostesses/baristas, Nataly and Michelle, pushed a few tables together for us and quickly took our coffee orders.  Wezandla uses Masterton's Out of Africa blend for their coffee beverages.  It's one of my favorites of Masterton's various blends and has become a staple item at my house here in PE.

Meet the Baristas
Michelle and Nataly

After our coffees were served everyone wanted a sample of the carrot and chocolate cakes on display.  No one was up for a whole serving so we ordered one of each and everyone shared.  The delicious cakes at the shop are provided by Pie and Country, a bakery shop located on Rink St. in PE.  A variety of meat pies is also available to patrons.

The coffee shop is not the primary business at Wezandla so it only occupies a small area of the store which seats about 25 people.  The craft store /coffee shop hours are Mon-Fri, 9-5 and Sat, 9-1.  A few parking spaces are available in front of the store plus there is a pay per hour parking lot directly across the street.  Wezandla's brightly painted facade just screams, "Welcome!"  It is a wonderful place for tourists and PE residents alike (including all you bored husbands out there) to stop in, shop around, and enjoy some refreshments. 

This Week's Crawlers
Margaret, Fran, Beryl, Nomusa,
Rebecca, Stella, Gail, Mandy

Our conversation at the table started out with Thursday's headline news in The Herald regarding the recent horrific slaughter of four rhinos at a nearby game reserve.  The rhinos were found just days after the Third Annual World Rhino Day (Sept 22).  The Herald's article on Thursday reported that so far this year in South Africa, 394 rhinos have been poached/slaughtered for their horns, a number which is creeping toward the 488 killed last year.  For readers interested in learning more about ongoing anti-poaching efforts check out The Rhino Conservation Association of South Africa's website:  www.worldrhinoday.org

Enough of this sad news.... the Crawlers figured we'd get onto a more pleasant topic so we began discussing one of our favorite things... books.  I shared with everyone my excitement over my most recent read, that being Seth Grahame-Smith's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  (What was that I just said about more pleasant topics?)  Anyway, it was a great book.... now I can't wait to see the movie.... probably on my next flight back to the U.S.

~Thank you to Glynis, Nataly and Michelle for a great craft store / coffee shop experience
~Happy Birthday (double nickels!) to my wonderful husband, Lou - October 5

Until next week,

Ellen