In looking back over the rough notes for all of my blog posts (you Crawlers have seen your share of those!), I noticed that almost one third of the coffee shops we've visited have been in the Walmer area. This past Thursday's Crawl (#70 if you can believe it!) contributed to that statistic.... the Crawlers all met at Refresh Cafe, 90 Albert Rd. in Walmer.
Refresh is not visible from the road, rather it is tucked away off to the side and behind the Harvest Christian Church, and across the road from the Harvest Christian Academy. A small sign points the way to the parking area for the cafe. Refresh is actually run by the church as a community outreach project. The coffee shop has been in existence for over four years, if Pastor Ed Walker's memory serves him correctly.
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| Pastor Ed Walker |
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| The Refresh Cafe Staff |
Refresh is a nice little shop where up to forty patrons can sit back, get comfortable in the high-back upholstered chairs and spend a few hours over breakfast, lunch or just muffins and coffee. That is exactly what this week's Crawlers, Vicki Minnaar, June Nash, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, Fran and Mandy de Beer, Colleen LeRoux, Kathy Roppel, Beth Vieira, did on Thursday. It was chocolate or bran muffins all around, baked by cook/chef, Millicent, accompanied by Masterton's filter or Urban Espress cappuccinos/Americanos prepared by baristas, Melody and Priscilla. My coffees (one cappuccino and one Americano) were perfect for my taste....hot and very strong.... loved it! Melody, Priscilla and Millicent were all welcoming and pleasant. Pastor Walker is fortunate to have the three of them running the shop. So, the next time you are out and about town, stop by the cafe, have some "Refresh"ments and say hi to this wonderful group of ladies. Refresh Cafe's hours are Mon-Fri, 7:30-3.
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| Meet the Barista Melody |
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| Meet the Chef Millicent |
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| Meet the Barista Priscilla |
Refresh supports up-and-coming local artists by displaying thier works at the shop. One painting in particular caught the Crawlers' attention. It happens to be a piece by a very talented PE resident, Banele Njadayi, whose works have been chosen to be exhibited at the Guichard Art Gallery in Chicago for the next two months. Banele is in Chicago (his first trip to the U.S.) at the moment for the start of this exhibit and will return to PE in a few weeks. Remember his name.... he could soon be taking the art world by storm!!!
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| This Week's Crawlers Beryl, June, Beth, Fran, Vicki, Mandy, Gail, Stella, Kathy not pictured - Colleen |
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| Banele's artwork |
After discussing the newest "pride of PE," our topic of conversation turned to the upcoming Christmas season... it will be upon us before we know it! It seemed that most everyone at the table has already determined their plans for the holidays. I better get moving on that.... suggestions from readers on cool African destinations for Christmas are more than welcome. But hurry, time is running short.
~Thank you to Pastor Ed Walker and the Refresh staff, Melody, Priscilla and Millicent for making the
Coffee Crawlers feel very much at home.
~Happy Birthday to my son, Christopher in Cleveland, Tennessee - Sept. 20
~Congrats to Banele on your art exhibit in Chicago
Until next week,
Ellen