JOHANNESBURG – An alleged drunk driver drove into the Ladder Coffee Shop, around midnight on Tuesday, damaging their front windows, doors, furniture in the store and a delivery motorbike that was parked outside.
Anastasia and Nicholas Esterhuizen, owners of the coffee shop on Bree Street in Cape Town CBD, have chosen to continue business as usual despite the extensive damage to their shop.
“Over the last few days we have obviously had interruptions and a huge hole in the shop, but we decided to stay open and not let the incident send negative energy to our staff etc,” said Nicholas in an interview with IOL.
The motorist was understood to have been arrested on the scene, however, attempts to get comment from the SAPS were not successful on Friday.
The owners said the crash came as a shock to them and they had thought it would compound the serious challenges business in the sector have faced in the past few years, but instead, the community has rallied behind the small business more than ever.
“It was shocking as the last two years have been giving us a whole bunch of challenges with lockdowns and loadshedding,” he said.
The owners said support had been overwhelming since the incident and they had managed to keep the business running.
“Our regulars have also been amazingly supportive and we were able to sell coffees from 7 o’clock the next morning! Customers literally walked over broken glass to come and get their favourite brew.” said Nicholas
Nicholas added: “The biggest challenge is trying to maintain composure with a mountain of tasks required for getting the shop back to its usual self and not losing the cosiness and details we created over time.”
The pair are hard at work planning the reopening of their coffee shop on Monday.
IOL