With the opening of the Bard & Minstrel, a high-end coffee shop and retailer of luxurious coffee table books, uMhlanga Arch’s quirky retail high street is now fully tenanted, writes Shirley le Guern.
The developers set out to create a cobblestoned, exclusive retail high street reminiscent of old European cities within a contrasting modern-day office, residential and hospitality cluster. Each retailer had to have a unique offering and outlets had to be carefully curated.
Mission accomplished – even though it is a tough time to launch a bespoke shopping experience, let alone new businesses.
Renzo Scribante, a partner in the Bard & Minstrel who has 15 years hospitality experience, has also been closely involved in developing the overall retail space along with the developers, as well as The Pencil Club, an exclusive membership club at the top of The Arch’s residential block.
He dons white gloves to show off beautiful coffee table books dedicated to iconic brands such as Channel, Tom Rolex and Yves St Laurent. His new venture, which is a perfect fit with the ambience of The Arch’s High Street, is all-buttoned leather couches, books and bold pictures of great musicians of yesteryear.
He was thrilled when some of his first customers said it felt as if they had stepped into a little store in London. But he has no illusions about this being easy.
“We had pulled the trigger to do something six months ago and thought that, by the time we opened, all would be fine. That’s not the case. The developers have been great, but one can’t put one’s head in the sand. You have got to reinvent yourself, remain positive and optimistic and look at doing bus
iness in a different way. Not everyone is sick. People still want nice things and now, more than ever, want interaction and to go out for a cup of coffee and meet friends. We just need to create the right safe environment.”
His closest neighbour, Ballihoo, which pairs fine wines and floristry, is excited about the new opening as the two businesses have a number of opportunities for future collaboration, including wine tastings and special events around the outside fountain – just as soon as the alcohol ban is lifted.
Until then, it is all about patience for founders Teraza Blair, Terianne Ninow and Kim Roberts who have had the luxury of only a week of full trading since opening.
Their involvement stems from their original decor business which saw them working on apartments at The Arch.
Blair says Ballihoo means to praise or publicise extravagantly and is the perfect moniker for a business that stands for lavish gifting. Included in their product offering is glassware, candles, ceramics and homeware. Most are sourced locally.
Another neighbour, Holiday Harbour Bay, was one of the very first to open at The Arch in October 2020. Run by the mother and daughter team, Dee and Morgan Gotz, the business started in Knysna in 1994. Today, there are two shops in Plettenberg Bay, one in Ballito and this latest one in uMhlanga.
The shop encapsulates a fun, holiday experience with bright beachy clothing, basketry and dashes of homeware in tune with The Arch’s concept of owner-managed spaces.
The brand “is all about us being involved and in our stores,” says Morgan Gotz. “Things have been up and down. But there is nothing more we can do but be patient and wait for Covid to pass,” she said.
The same goes for other retailers that make up this rather eclectic High Street mix – including Cliff and Nicci Line’s ONE.mind.body.soul which is the retail arm of the couple’s wellness business and sells high-end fashion as well as homeware and stationery; The Moustache Barber Shop; Empiro, a luxury menswear outfitter; and The Gentry, purveyors of fine gentlemen’s goods.
Head designer and owner of bespoke fine jewellery brand, Mark Gold, says that establishing a second outlet at The Arch was a perfect fit as he wished to create a destination store that was much like his outlet in Morningside.
Spurred by Covid, shopping patterns are changing with people moving away from more traditional regional malls and gravitating towards smaller, more personalised spaces. As his now 30-year-old business has crafted bespoke jewellery across the lifetime of individual clients, he is less concerned with the immediate impact of the pandemic.
“We’re here for the long-term. We are building relationships that create lifetime purchasers and I want my clients to return,” he explains. *
Pictured above:
Renzo Scribante, a partner in the Bard & Minstrel coffee shop, dons his white gloves to page through one of the beautiful Assouline coffee table books on display.
Mother and daughter team, Dee and Morgan Gotz, are the faces behind Holiday Harbour Bay which encapsulates a fun holiday experience.
Terianne Ninow(left) and Kim Roberts, owners of Ballihoo, which pairs fine wines and floristry.