Johannesburg

The Gourmet Grocer & Coffefe Coffee Bar

  64 St Andrew St, Birdhaven ,   Rosebank & The Parks          +27 11 442 6965     more than a year ago

Until the pandemic arrived Voodoo Lily was 'just' another small neighbourhood corner cafe, particularly popular for its close proximity to the James and Ethel Gray Park. Quick out of the gates, within a month of the 2020 hard lockdown, which forced everything but food and medicine retail stores to close, what is now The Gourmet Grocer was born in the space of the old Voodoo Lily cafe, selling a wide range of in-demand deli essentials.

As owner Larry Hodes explains; “It was May, and Mother’s Day was around the corner. My wife Annie and I decided to invite small local producers to sell their stock from our premises. We put out a request for interest on WhatsApp and Facebook, and the response was remarkable – many were suppliers to restaurants and markets who were battling loss of sales, and they leapt at the chance to be able to produce and sell again. Within 24 hours we had a grocer.”

As the months passed Larry and Annie continued to grow and refine the huge range of items on sale at The Gourmet Grocer and widen the network of small producers they support. They also managed to reopen their cafe with all the seating now outside on the wide pavement and early in the morning on weekends the wide cafe terrace is always packed.

In September 2020 the pair also launched an on-site coffee roastery with a separate dedicated coffee bar, Coffefe. Make sure to get a bag of freshly ground beans to take home with you on the way out.

In addition to their great coffee and brilliant selection of artisanal ready meals, we also love Annie and Larry's consistently positive attitude to finding a sustainable response to rolling with the punches thrown by this crisis, “In times of crisis, the worst thing you can do is nothing." 

Website

Social Links:

Amenities

Child-friendly
Facilities for disabled
Outside seating
Live Music
Takeaway
Guarded parking
Dogs Allowed
Wi-fi

Email

info@voodoolilycafe.com

Open

Open 07:00–19:30, Mon 07:00–18:00, Sun and public holidays 07:00–17:00.

Price/Additional Info

RR-RRR.

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