Thursday's Crawlers, Margaret Zoetmulder, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Sylvia Mynhardt, Gail Darne, Beth Vieira, Nomusa Nkomo, and Fran de Beer, met at The Coffee Stop and, as soon as I entered the shop, I was pleasantly surprised. The shop is much larger than it appears at first glance, providing seating for 80-90 people. Tables are situated inside as well as outside on the patio that is adjacent to the garden center/greenhouse of the warehouse. The Crawlers chose to sit outside and enjoy the fountains, flowers and plants on display and for sale for warehouse customers. Considering there is a huge parking lot and a busy store just meters away, The Coffee Stop feels totally removed from all the hustle and bustle.
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| Meet the Assistant Manager Pinky |
The Coffee Stop has been at Builders' Warehouse since 2008 and operates under similar hours: Mon-Fri, 7:30-6, Sat, 7:30-4, and Sun, 7:30-3. Upon entering the shop a board listing hard-to-resist specials greets patrons.... Breakfast Special R25, Coffee/Cake Special R30, Burger and Shake Special R49.50. Before deciding on one of these specials, though, guests must be sure to check out the full breakfast/lunch/kids' menu if for nothing else than the cool quote reading it provides. One quote I know that Nomusa and my BFF Jackie will love... "Tea is liquid wisdom."
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| Meet the Barista Sinethemba |
So while Nomusa had her usual wisdom, the rest of us ordered coffee and were treated to TriBeCa brand filter coffee, cappuccinos, and Americanos with mini cappuccino muffins on the side, served by our very charming barista, Sinethemba. Excellent coffee, Sine, thank you! The owner was not in the shop on Thursday so, after all the Crawlers left to go on a shopping spree in the greenhouse area, I talked with assistant manager, Pinky, and barista, Sine. The shop's owner is very fortunate to have such a personable and hospitable staff. I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to The Coffee Stop and will definitely return for breakfast with Lou the next time we need pool chemicals!?!
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| This Week's Crawlers Margaret, Beth, Nomusa, Beryl, Gail, Fran, Sylvia, Stella |
At the table our burgeoning book club briefly discussed two books that have now been added to my ever growing list of must-reads.... Makiwa by Peter Godwin and The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer. (Oh, an aside to Jeff, Liz and Chris L. -- get your hands on a copy of Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela and read it before your visit here... I just finished it... an incredible read!)
Okay, so back to the Crawler conversation....
Nomusa and I regaled the Crawlers with a rundown on our 4-hour tennis marathon on Wednesday (Crawl eve). I'm tired right now just thinking about it! After all that tennis I felt no guilt about eating those mini cappuccino muffins.
The Crawlers then talked about Daylight Saving Time which began this past weekend in the U.S. and starts in a few weeks in Europe. The time change puts all my family in the U.S. only 6 hours behind PE now... much easier for skyping!
For our March 15 Crawl we will be having our 2nd Annual St. Pat's celebration (this year, two days early). We'll be meeting at the same place as last year, The Keg and Swan in Sunridge at 10:00 am. All Crawlers and PE Coffee Crawl readers are welcome to join K and S hostess, Bonnie, and me for an Irish coffee or two (or three). Hope to see you there!
~Thank you to The Coffee Stop staff, Sine and Pinky
~Happy Birthday to Mandy (March 15)
~Happy St. Patrick's Day to all (March 17)
~Good luck and have fun to all participants in the Lake Farm Charity Run/Walk on March 17. Come and
join us to support a good cause.
Until next week,
Ellen