Shutdown hammers Graaff-Reinet
● Businesses closing in Karoo town due to tourism ban
Once a popular pit stop for holidaymakers headed to the coast and a drawcard for foreigners, Graaff-Reinet is fast becoming an empty shell as businesses — unable to survive without tourism — have been forced to shut.
Coffee shops, nurseries and even museums — almost entirely reliant on visitors to the quaint Karoo town — are battling to stay afloat as the lockdown, which recently entered its 100th day, continues to bite.
Coupled to each closure is a string of job losses.
Polka bakery, cafe and deli, which opened its doors almost a decade ago, was among the hardest hit and has been forced to take the decision to close its doors indefinitely.
Owner and head chef Hestie van der Mescht, who bought the establishment seven years ago, said after an extremely challenging three months, she had been left with no choice but to close.
Though the business had opened for takeaways when level 3 of the lockdown was announced, it was not making enough money to cover all its overheads, which included the salaries of 26 staff. Van der Mescht said Polka had been almost entirely reliant on tourists and Graaff-Reinet was not big enough to sustain the town’s seven restaurants without them.
She said she would, however, continue to host pop up restaurants and an online store for baked goods and deli food.
“It was a difficult decision but I leave with the most amazing memories.
“Every local you speak to has either had a birthday here, a baby shower or a special event with their families.”
Businessman Hannes van Jaarsveld said he had decided to close The Village restaurant after just a year in business.
“We were mainly reliant on tourists coming through the town and after three months of closure, we just couldn’t carry on any longer,” he said.
“Because we had only been open for a year, we were still trying to build a name for The Village.”
The restaurant had nine employees. Referring to another of his businesses, the car museum across the road, Van Jaarsveld said the initiative was more of a hobby and less about making money.
He said it was mainly tourists who visited the museum and though it was now allowed to open, few people were travelling through the small town — the fourth oldest in SA — making it difficult to keep it going.
Another family restaurant, Our Yard, was also battling to stay afloat.
He said he had been forced to reduce Our Yard’s staff from 25 to 12 employees.
“After lockdown and then not being allowed to sell alcohol, it just was not profitable any more.
“We can only keep paying out of our own pockets for so long,” he said.
On the closure of Polka, which the Van Jaarsveld family had owned before Van der Mescht, he said the restaurant had been known all over SA and its closure was a sore point for him and his wife.
He said Van der Mescht had done a phenomenal job with it.
“I would hate to see tourism going completely down.
“Graaff-Reinet is a landmark for people travelling from Johannesburg to coastal areas on holiday.
“You take half the restaurants away and people will rather stop elsewhere.
“I am very religious and to me a cup is always half full.
“I honestly believe that things are going to get better sooner than expected.
“But I think there is first going to be a lot more heartache and disappointment.”
The owners of the Blue Magnolia garden centre and coffee shop announced its decision to stop trading on its Facebook page last week.
“We sincerely regret to inform you that Blue Magnolia will be closing its doors on July 31,” the post reads.
“After the prolonged drought, followed by the Covid-19 shutdown and pandemic, we simply do not find it economically viable to remain trading.”
The centre has been open for nine years.