Durban - Finally the empty premises on Durban’s Golden Mile are to be filled – just in time for Durban’s busy summer holiday season.
The eThekwini Municipality issued a statement yesterday to say they were signing the leases and, within the next two months, carefully selected restaurants and outlets would open.
The first two to open next month will be in the south and Country Club beach kiosks.
Afro’s Braai’d Chicken will be situated at South Beach, and The Bike and Bean at Country Club beach.
Afro’s, a popular takeaway, has grown its following at markets where people queue for their “strips and t’jips”.
It uses locally sourced ingredients and, unlike most South African fast food chicken outlets, is based on African and not on Portuguese recipes.
The Bike and Bean is an informal facility where the public can hire bicycles and grab a bite to eat.
Beach paraphernalia, such as towels, buckets and spades, will also be sold.
Dream come true
Owner Viki Ferreira was de-lighted to hear she would be given the opportunity to trade on the beachfront, saying it was a dream come true.
“I can’t express how excited I am to be able to introduce the concept of The Bike and Bean to Durban. It’s like the best early Christmas present ever,” said Ferriera.
In the larger premises, three interesting restaurants are on the cards.
At Dairy Beach, a restaurant called Durban Beach Club hoped to become an iconic brand, said owner Sadha Naidoo.
There would be casual dining during the day and in the evening it would transform into an elegant restaurant with crisp white linen and good glassware, said Naidoo.
Addington Beach would get The Surf Riders Café – a restaurant and coffee shop in a relaxed atmosphere that aims to encapsulate Durban’s surfing culture with a surf museum display.
A shop selling surf goods and surf wear would form part of the establishment.
On New Beach, a Shisanyama restaurant, which would look to “replicate, with some creative license, the shebeen environment of South Africa” would provide meat dishes cooked in various open flame methods.
The three larger restaurants are expected to open in January. - The Mercury