Life With Lemons

At most of the coffee shops we've visited I've had the opportunity to spend time with the owner chatting about the coffee business.  Many of the owners share with me "twist of fate" circumstances, family history, a humorous incident, or an answered prayer that led them to open or take ownership of their coffee shop. Some of the owners have told me that in the day-to-day grind and busy-ness sometimes they forget what it is that first motivated them to get their business started.

Of all the coffee shop owners I've met there are two whose stories have been most inspirational.  The first is Deirdre Kohler, owner of The Grove Tea and Coffee Shop (see June, 2011 post).  The diagnosis of a brain tumor lit a fire under her to open a coffee shop, write a book, and finish her university degree.  She checked off all three objectives and has since moved on to pursue other endeavors while enjoying life cancer free.  The second is Lynda Davies, owner of Life With Lemons Coffee Shop, located at 278 Main Rd. in Walmer.  Her cancer diagnosis in 2010 served as a wake-up call to start living life to the fullest.  After years of treatment Lynda decided she was ready to start a coffee shop business the theme of which would revolve around the old adage, "When life throws you lemons make lemonade."

Lynda has fully embraced this theme in her shop from the name, Life With Lemons, to the whimsical lemon tree decor/color scheme to the staff's citrus inspired "uniforms" and, finally, to the shop's specialty beverage, homemade lemonade.  A positive vibe emanates from every corner of the shop so that patrons can't help but feel cheerful and even energized just from walking through the door.

Meet the Owner and Waitstaff
Mandisa, Lynda, Alicia

Life With Lemons opened on August 5th of this year.  The new shop's menu features breakfasts served all day, light lunches, cakes, and Urban Espress coffee.  My cappuccino and Americano were outstanding, and were the perfect accompaniment for the lemon meringue I ordered.  Some of the Crawlers indulged in the lemon bread which looked absolutely amazing.  The waitstaff, Alicia and Mandisa, and the barista, Pinkie, served all of our food and beverages with high spirits and good humor.

Meet the Barista
Pinkie

The shop's luscious lemon bread

Life with Lemons is conveniently located and has plenty of off-street parking.  Seating for about 45 is available in the main dining room and the patio, plus there is extra seating in a special smokers' area.  The shop's hours are Tues-Fri, 7:30 3, Sat and Sun, 8-2, closed on Monday.  Check out Life With Lemons on the web: www.lifewithlemons.co.za or on Facebook.

PE residents....be sure to stop in to Life With Lemons and visit with Lynda and company....and if you're down-in-the-dumps because life is giving you lemons it's guaranteed that they'll turn that frown upside-down with some fresh homemade lemonade!!!

Inside dining room

The patio

So, Thursday, Sept 19, was an exciting day for the Crawlers in that it was our first ever surprise birthday celebration.  Thanks to Heather Anderson and the Life With Lemons crew for putting together a 60th birthday party for Crawler Lee Rodwell.  Her actual birthday isn't until the 27th, which made the whole surprise a lot easier to pull off.  Also, the fact that Lee was running late because she was picking up her new car gave us all time to warm up our singing voices for a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday."  Needless to say, Lee was surprised by all of Thursday's other Crawlers, Margaret and Sandy Zoetmulder, Margaret and Arthur Marshall, Stella and Beryl Dawson, June Nash, Nomusa Nkomo, Leanne Waller, Nicolette Hijmans, Gail Darne, Beth Vieira, Heather Anderson, and first time Crawler Lynn Cameron.

Happy Birthday, Lee!!!

This Week's Crawlers
Beth, Gail, Margaret Z., Sandy, Arthur, Margaret M., Lee,
Lynn, Heather, Nicolette, Leanne, June, Stella, Beryl, Nomusa

While we celebrated Lee's 60th birthday we also talked about all the actual impending "birth days" of numerous Crawlers' children/grandchildren.  It seems that at least one baby is due every month through April!  Sandy, who was sitting at the table with us, is due any day now, and Beth's new grandson was born the morning after the Crawl!

Ultimately, the Sept 19 Crawl was truly a celebration of many lives......Lynda's, Lee's, all the new babies....in a perfect venue to celebrate!  To take a quote from the Life With Lemons menu..... "I have come to give you life and life abundantly."  John 10:10  

~Thank you to Lynda and the Life With Lemons staff for taking part in our celebration
~Happy Birthday to Crawler Lee Rodwell - September 27
~Happy Birthday to Crawler Leanne Waller - Septmeber 28
~Happy Birthday to my nephew, Peter, in Edinboro, PA - September 30
~Congratulations to Crawler Angela and her husband, Carlos, on the birth of their son - September 20

Until next week,

Ellen

Birthday girls, Beth Sept 16) and Lee (Sept 27)

Lee and Lynn

Nomusa and Lee

Nouvo Cafe

One of the corner properties at the 6th and Villiers traffic circle in Walmer has seemed to me for the past three years to be dreadfully under-utilized.  The building on the property just needed some TLC and an owner with good business sense and a vision.

As of the beginning of September the brand spanking new Nouvo Cafe is open for business at the 134 Villiers address.  Owner David Martin is the man with the business sense and the vision who transformed the slightly shabby building into a clean, fresh, modern coffee shop.  The cafe accommodates about 24 patrons inside and on the outside deck combined.  For our Crawl visit on Thursday, Sumatran coffee and espresso drinks and a "teaser" menu was available, though David is expanding the menu as time goes on.

Meet the Owner
David Martin

Meet the Barista
Kuster

Delicious cappuccino but...ooops...
I took the pic upside down

Our baristas, Kuster and Ace, and the waitstaff, Monwabisi and Lorraine, were professional, personable and efficient as fifteen Crawlers invaded Nouvo Thursday morning.  I imagine we were the largest single group they've had since opening but that didn't fluster the staff at all.

Meet the Waitstaff
Monwabisi and Lorraine

All the Crawlers, Leanne Waller, June and Cayle Nash, Margaret and Arthur Marshall, Lee Rodwell, Nicolette Hijmans, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Fran and Keith de Beer, Gail Darne, Margaret Zoetmulder, Nomusa Nkomo, raved about the coffee, and I have to say that my Americano has made it to one of the top five I've had in the 112 shops we've visited.  Kudos to the baristas!!!

This Week's Crawlers
Arthur, Margaret Z., Nicolette, Lee, June, Margaret M.,
Stella, Cayle, Beryl, Leanne, Fran, Nomusa, Gail,
not pictured: Keith

Nouvo Cafe's hours are Mon-Fri, 7:30-7, Sat, 7:30-3, closed on Sunday.  I'm looking forward to a return visit to Nouvo Cafe for some awesome coffee and to check out the expanding menu.

Photo by Dean Dickinson

Photo by Dean Dickinson

While on our trip to Kenya at the beginning of September Lou and I enjoyed some of the most incredible coffee we've ever had.  So much so that we purchased a couple of kgs at the duty free shop in the airport before we left the country.  At the time I was so excited to invite the Crawlers to my house to share the joy. Unfortunately, on Thursday I had not-so-good news for the Crawlers.  The kg of ground coffee we bought was really quite horrible and the kg of beans we bought was unroasted!  So much for coffee at Ellen's unless I can get some advice on how to roast coffee beans in my oven without screwing it up.

After breaking the bad news to everyone, we ordered a second round of good coffee and caught up with Margaret Z. and Nomusa about their vacations in August.  Welcome back to both of you.  I also got to share stories from our trip to Kenya and the Great Migration (human and animal!) at the Maasai Mara.
It's good to have all of our traveling Crawlers back safe, sound and Crawling again.

~Thank you to Owner David Martin and Thursday's Baristas and Waitstaff
~Thank you to Dean Dickinson of Imagination Food Design for taking some pics and giving me photography tips!
~ A huge Happy 30th Birthday wish to my son, Christopher, in Cleveland, TN - September 20
~Happy Birthday to Crawler Beth Vieira - September 16
~Happy Birthday to once upon a time Crawler Fr. Dominic Griego - September 17
~Happy Halfway to St. Pat's Day to family, friends and readers of Irish descent....only 6 months to go!!!

Until next week,

Ellen

Something Good

Last Thursday's Crawl took us yet again to the beachfront to a site that, for decades in the past, was a PE institution.  It closed for about seven years, then opened again just a few months ago to cater to tourists and PE beachgoers.  The newly reopened Something Good is located on Marine Drive in Summerstrand. Owner John Davies has renovated and redecorated the original building.  His passion for surfing serves as the inspiration for the shop's decor.  A picture collage of surfer dudes and the "old PE" beachfront adorns the walls and, if you look overhead, actual surfboards can be seen in the roof trusses.  The fun, beachy decor acts as a conversation piece for Something Good's customers.

Do you recognize any of these people?

Great surfing pics!

Thursday's Crawlers, Lee Rodwell, Margaret and Arthur Marshall, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Nicolette Hijmans, Gail Darne, and newcomers, Lee Gajjar, Moira Batty, and Pat Fields, sat at a ground level table overlooking the ocean.  There is also seating available on an upstairs undercover deck area.

This Week's Crawlers
Gail, Stella, Pat, Beryl, Arthur, Nicolette,
Margaret, Lee R., Moira, Lee G.

Something Good's head chef, Craig Joyce and Barista, Sivile, doubled as our waiters on Thursday morning.  Even amidst the continuous flow of customers, they jumped right into action serving us breakfast and Pavin coffee in a timely fashion and with a warm smile.

Meet the Head Chef
Craig Joyce

Meet the Barista
Sivile

The Crawlers who recall Something Good "back in the day" were all glad to see its return.  They remember that it wasn't a day at the beach without getting something good to eat at Something Good.  From what I hear around town, PE residents are also happy that the shop is up and running again.  So, the next time you're at the beachfront, stop in for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just a snack and check out Something Good's new digs.  Hours of operation are: weekdays 7 a.m.-10 p.m.; weekends 7 a.m.-11 p.m.

Ground level seating

This week we welcomed three new Crawlers: Pat, Moira and Lee G.  Pat just happened upon our group while we were ordering coffee and we asked her to join us.  She immediately fit right in as though she'd been Crawling with us for years!  Also joining us on Thursday was Lee Rodwell's mother, Moira, who was visiting from Cape Town.  And lastly, coming along as a guest of Nicolette's, was Lee G. who was just interested in checking out what the Crawl was all about.  Welcome ladies.

Deck seating

View from the deck

After all the introductions were made we got to talking about Lee G.'s job as a reflexologist.  On the outline of a foot that I had drawn Lee showed us which parts of the body correspond (for treatment) to different areas of the foot.  Pretty interesting stuff.  Lee also talked about vitamin and mineral supplements that are helpful for joints.  It was then that I couldn't help but tell the story of how monkeys stole my son's (Jeff's) glucosamine and chondrointin supplements while we were in Malawi at Christmastime last year.  The monkeys actually sneaked into the bathroom area of Jeff's room at the lodge and proceeded to eat the tablets while sitting in the sink!  Those primates are going to have some healthy joints!!!

**A note to PE Coffee Crawl blog readers: Lou and I will be on vacation in Kenya for the next few weeks.
    The next official Crawl will be Sept. 12 with the blog post going up probably on Sept 17.

~Thank you to Something Good owner John Davies for resurrecting this PE institution!
~Thank you to Craig and Sivile for the awesome service
~Happy Birthday to my nephew, Joey, in Binghamton, NY - Sept 2
~Happy Labor Day Weekend to my family, friends, and blog readers in the U.S.A.  Enjoy your last
  unofficial weekend of the summer.

Until mid- September,

Ellen

Grass Roof

One of the first hikes Lou and I checked out when we moved to PE was the Sacramento Trail.  The trail lies within the Sardinia Bay Nature Reserve between Schoenmakerskop (Schoenies) and Sardinia Bay.  It's a nice, easy trail just minutes from our house on the Sardinia Bay side, and has become a relaxing way for us to spend a weekend morning/early afternoon.  We take our time starting at the Sardinia Bay parking lot and trek across the ridge to Schoenies.  On the return trip we usually take the beach route to enjoy the sand, surf, and the coves surrounded by rocky outcroppings.  The entire outing takes us about three hours.  On the hike we have with us fruit, trail mix and water but by the time we arrive back at our point of origin I feel like sitting and having something a little more substantial.  Now, if you start the trail at Schoenies, you can have post-hike refreshments at Sacramento (see June, 2011 post) which is just a stone's throw from the trail head. On the Sardinia Bay side, however, there's only a small concession stand in the parking lot.

A brand new place has recently sprung up, though, only a few minutes' drive from Sardinia Bay beach. Grass Roof Farm Stall and Coffee Shop, located on the corner of Seaview and Heron Roads in Sardinia Bay, opened for business at the beginning of August.  The first thing I noticed as I entered the grounds of Grass Roof is that there's really grass growing on the roof of this new building!  When I asked owner Nicky Charlewood about how she came up with the idea and, hence, the name, she said she wanted something new and different and it just came to her.  The grass roof is so cool and it ended up being a conversation topic amongst the Crawlers on Thursday.  We all wondered about the upkeep of the roof....watering, cutting, weeding.  Then, lo and behold, during the Crawl we got front row seat viewing of how they go about watering the roof.  As far as cutting goes, Nicky told me that the gardener just gets on the roof with a weed whacker every now and then.

Meet the Manager and the Owner
Simba and Nicky

The roof needs watering!

The second thing I noticed about Grass Roof was how sparkling clean the farm stall and coffee shop are and how extraordinarily friendly the staff is.  Manager, Simba, was so helpful in showing us everything that the farm stall and bakery have to offer and pointing us in the direction of the coffee shop.  The whole complex is way bigger than it appears to be from the road.  The coffee shop seats sixty people inside and at least that many outside on the terrace and on the lawn.  There is a kids' play area on the premises which makes for a wonderful setting for a Moms/tots play group.

The Grass Roof menu includes breakfast, lunch and daily bakery specials all made on-site.  Illy brand coffee is served up by Barista Robert.  Other beverages include a variety of teas, shakes and cold drinks.  Grass Roof hours are Tues-Sun, 8-5; closed on Monday.  Lou and I will definitely be stopping by after our next hike on the Sacramento Trail.

My cappuccino made with lots of love

Meet the Barista
Robert

Crawlers, Gail Darne, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Beth Vieira, Fran and Keith de Beer, June and Cayle Nash, Leanne and Luke Waller, Margaret and Arthur Marshall, Lee Rodwell, Nicolette Hijmans, started off Thursday morning by browsing through the farm stall/bakery and making purchases.  Once seated with our coffee and tea served, we all faced a most difficult decision....which of the luscious cakes to order.  Many of us remembered that when the Crawl started back a few years ago there was the unofficial No-Food-On-The-Crawl-Rule which we all agreed went out the window when my son, Jeff, came to visit.  I guess we can blame him for any weight we've gained along the way.  I have to say that Thursday's choice was one of the hardest for me of all the Crawls to date since each of the freshly baked desserts looked equally tantalizing.  I ended up getting the Chocolate Eclair Cake which I now highly recommend.

This Week's Crawlers
Beryl, Lee, Nicolette, Margaret, Arthur,
Gail, Beth, June, Cayle, Fran, Stella, Leanne, Luke
not pictured - Keith

Yummy Chocolate Eclair Cake

Scones and Tea anyone?

While waiting for our cakes to be served we talked about the upcoming International Food Night.  I have been asked yet again to bake numerous "American Apple Pies."  They are usually quite a hit.  Only one problem.... Thanksgiving falls shortly after the Food Festival and I'm running low on Crisco.  Unfortunately, I don't have enough to make pies for both occasions.  What a conundrum I'm facing.  Guess I'll just have to pick the brains of the amazing bakery chefs at Grass Roof for alternate crust making methods!  Any suggestions from readers for making flaky pie crust sans Crisco is also welcomed....drop me a comment!

~Thank you to Nicky and the Grass Roof staff

Until next week,

Ellen