have with people – that’s the everyday
magic here. When they’re together in
conversation, there’s an easy ebb and
flow between them. This familiarity
is infectious: they greet each patron,
often by name, help them figure out
what they fancy that day, ruffle the hair
of their children.
Their qualifications are simple: they
love to cook and eat good ingredients, and
share that joy with others. Will learned
by “ just doing it”, first at home as a child,
where each member of the family had to
cook a meal once a week. This grew into
a competition, with his father as judge.
His highest score ever? Ten out of 10
for crayfish thermidor. Steph, with an
indulgent smile, reveals that school-age
Will would go to the secretary’s office,
feigning illness, and ask to phone his
mom. He’d whisper to her: “Can you
check on the beef ?” and “Please defrost
the mince.”
Steph herself had always wanted
to be a food critic and open her own
restaurant. After fashion school and a stint
of wardrobe styling, she moved into food
styling. It was while she and Will were
working on a cookbook for her sister
Julia (a.k.a. Suzelle DIY) that they
clicked and started talking about opening
something together.
Why does Arthur’s Mini Super work?
“It’s the vibe here,” says Will. “You can
tell that people feel very welcome. They
have no skaam helping themselves from
the fridge and letting their dog run
around.” Steph is more prosaic: “I also
think it’s because our quality’s good.
We don’t skimp on anything. We put
a lot of butter on the toast. It’s food that
you can make for yourself at home, but
I think it’s really nice when someone
serves you that comfort food.”
The other big advantage of having
a petite space is that everything is always
fresh. Fruit, veg and bread are delivered
daily. “Nothing’s sitting for long periods,”
explains Will. “We buy small quantities;
we have very little food waste; we always
do specials. If our fruit-and-veg guy has
great mangoes, then we’ll do a mango
bowl and sell 10 of those.”
The look and feel of Arthur’s has also
contributed to its cult status. The eclectic
visual identity was created literally from
the ground up: “We found these [red,
TASTE MARCH 2020 73blue and white lino] floor tiles, which
were affordable, and then everything else
happened,” explains Steph. “We designed
the shop ourselves. Our homes kind of
look like this.”
A distinct eschewing of the neutral
wood-and-steel “epidemic” in the city,
the space is quirky, bright and made
for comfort, especially the super-low
windowside counter and kerbside tables.
“We both agreed we won’t have high
stools here; we hate sitting on high stools,”
says Steph. “I guess it’s the personal touch
on everything that makes the shop
the way it is,” adds Will.
The duo is exceptionally proud of
the rest of the Arthur’s team. Regulars
will know talented barista Gift Chawezi
Chirwa, who has been with Arthur’s
from day one, and behind-the-scenes stars
Portia Ulana and Lusanda Gidi. But eitherWill or Steph is always present, bustling
behind the counter. “It has to be,” says
Steph. “Fortunately and unfortunately
we’ve built a business that very strongly
relies on us being here.”
Staying open later into the evenings
might be on the cards, and they are
considering expanding into the same
building to build a bigger kitchen, but rest
assured: no matter what happens, the spirit
of theminiwillremain.WOpen Tuesdays to Fridays 7 am to 5 pm; Saturdays and
Sundays 8 am to 2 pm. 16 Arthurs Road, Sea Point;
arthursminisuper.co.za; @arthursminisuper* Before you ask, the only guy in the shop actually called
Arthur is a serviette holder. He is also an armadillo.SEA POINT STORE