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A quirky lunch spot by day that transforms into a chic cocktail and music venue by night, Even After All – recently opened at Joburg’s 44 Stanley – gives a knowing nod to the retro vibes of the ’70s.
ven After All – the brainchild of Marcel and Marc Cronje of Dine & Dash, Fhatuwani Mukheli and Mary Songo – is just one of a spate of fresh new eateries around the country that were conceptualised during last year’s Level 5 lockdown. Marcel explains that the space was named for one of his favourite songs by Finley Quaye, which he felt expressed the collective resilience of the restaurant industry through the pandemic. The interior design, on the other hand, was inspired by nostalgia-fuelled TV binge-watching. “During [the lockdown], I found myself watching a lot of television – Mad Men, Peaky Blinders and Halston,” says Marcel. “All of these series are set in different decades of the 1900s, which got me thinking about creating a space
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from a previous era.” The interiors of some of Mad Men’s leading characters’ living spaces struck a particular chord. “I’ve found myself circling back to Don [Draper] and Megan’s apartment,” Marcel explains. “It’s such a beautiful space, and it inspired us to create something with influences from the early ’70s.” The Cronje siblings have a passion for launching cool restaurants, with two prestigious Johannesburg spots – The Royale and Louise & Anna – under their belts prior to Even After All. At the latter, the idea from its very inception was to create a feeling of nostalgia for the 1970s through the design, food, drinks and music. The result is a place infused with the comfortable familiarity of a bygone era, “almost like you’ve been here thousands of times before,” says Marcel.
PHOTOS SARAH DE PINA WORDS MICHAELA STEHR
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