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17 July 2018
Hermanus restaurants step up to the plate
A
ngry. Frustrated. Stressed. Fatigued. Those were just some of the emotions expressed by restaurant and coffee shop owners when I went on a walkabout on Saturday morning to find out how the businesses are coping with the latest spate of protest action that has gripped our town.
What’s Cooking RESTAURANT NEWS Hedda Mittner
Along the way I met some bewildered visitors who were desperately looking for a place to have coffee, only to find closed doors with signs declaring: Closed due to the strike / lack of staff. It took some explaining to paint a picture for them of what is happening in Hermanus and they were gob-smacked, to say the least.
supplement front-of-house staff, the main problem lies in the kitchen. “All our kitchen staff live in Zwelihle,” said Bruce, “and some of them have been with Rossi’s for over a decade. Apart from the fact that I can’t just replace these people overnight, they don’t deserve to lose their jobs due to circumstances beyond their control.”
Although Rossi’s has been closed since Wednesday, I managed to speak to owner Bruce Geddes and his very frustrated chef, Elize van Neel, who were hopeful that by pulling in all their available staff members and a few volunteers, they would be able to open the restaurant on Saturday
At the same time though, the survival of these businesses depends on their staff and retrenchments seem unavoidable. Several restaurant owners said that if the unrest continues, they would have no other choice than to recruit new staff from other areas. Needless to say, this is a
Tired but still smiling: Martin Liebenberg of Paradiso, Petri Hendriksz of Pear Tree and Char’d, Petri’s brother Jaco, and Henri Grové of Fusion and Grove’s Café. night for pizzas only. They were hoping to be open on Friday night, said Bruce, but had so many bookings that he knew they would not be able to cope. I can only imagine how agonising it must have been for him to keep the restaurant closed while being fully booked in the middle of the quiet season.
most unfortunate predicament for all the individuals concerned as well as the restaurant industry in Hermanus as a whole.
“What makes me so angry,” said Elize, “is that noone seems to be helping all those Zwelihle residents who want to work – who have to work in order to provide for their families – and are prevented from doing so. Scared and intimidated, they are stuck in Zwe like prisoners in their own homes.”
Having walked past half a dozen or so closed restaurants and coffee shops in town, I was relieved to find some sign of life on the waterfront, where I spoke to the bleary-eyed owners of Pear Tree, Char’d, Fusion and Paradiso. Petri Hendriksz said he has managed to keep his establishments open by juggling his staff and running back and forth between Pear Tree and Char’d. Both were open on Saturday, but he said Pear Tree would be closed on Saturday evening in order to keep Char’d open for evening trade.
While many restaurants have been able to
“The intimidation of our staff is the worst part of
Rudolf van der Berg of Burgundy (far right) hardly had a moment to stand still for a photo with volunteers Mike and Elaine Bayer from The Beanery and Colette Breedt.
