68 TASTE MARCH 2020
whoappreciatetheirphilosophythatit’s
allaboutthelittle things, and doing
themwell.
Andthetinylocationis nosmallpart
of itssuccess.“Thisis a spacethatpeople
cantakeownershipof,”saysWill.“It’s
like,‘Mylittlesecret’.StephandI like
thatpeoplemakethemselvesat home
andchatandhelpthemselvesfromthe
fridge.We’vecreateda microcommunity
of weirdoswhocomehereeveryday.
Thosepeoplehavebecomefriendswith
eachother– thatwarmsmyheart.They
connectovertheshopandin theshop.”AFTER A FEW YEARS
IN CATERING, peddlingAC T UA L LY,
comparedwithmyoriginalidea,it was
toobig,”saysWillHobson,describing
thefirsttimehesawthespacenow
inhabitedbyCapeTown’smostcherished
cornershopthat’snotona corner.Heand
co-ownerStephanieAnastasopouloshave
beenrunningArthur’sMiniSuper* from
a pocket-sizedstorefrontin SeaPoint,
CapeTown,sinceDecember2018,
andhavebuiltupa devotedfanbase.
“Whuddupfam!”hailsthetrademark
signageontheflooras youenter.This
slang(todenoteyourclosefriendsor
chosenfamily)is apt,as thepairhave
created a community of likeminded folks
sandwichesandworkingin restaurant
kitchens,Willhadsomecoffeeequipment
andfridgesin storage,andharbouredan
ideaof openinga coffeehatchsomewhere.
ThenonedayhewalkedpasttheTO
LETsignin thewindowonArthursRoad
andmuchlikea “meetcute”in an indie
movie,therestis history.
HeandStephhadalwaysadmiredthe
likesof specialitydelissuchas Giovanni’s
in GreenPointandOliveBranchin Kloof
Street,anddreamedof somethingsimilar,
“butmorelikeus”.A littlebitmore
accessible,intimateandpersonal.Little.
Theotherhalfof theconcept,as Steph
explains,wasmorepractical:“Weboth
grewupin Joburg,wherethere’sa big
cornercaféandgrocerculture;youcan
getfruitandvegthere,anda Cokeand
cigarettes.Inmymind,thatwaswhat
I wanted it to be, like a corner caffie.”TheArthur’sethosis allabout
exceptionalpantrybasics.Butin a city
thickwithhigh-quality(orat leasthigh-
end)suppliers,whatmakessomething
trulyexceptional?Theanswerunderlines
theteam’scommitmentto thesmalland
simple,butnotlesser:wholefoodthatthey
reallylove,witha focusonqualityover
quantity.“Small-batchproducers.People
who,becausethey’reconcernedabout
quality,can’tbebiggerthanthey are,
youknow?”saysSteph.“WE STOCK ONE EGG
BRAND, ONE OLIVE
OIL, ONE COFFEE.
That’sthecharmof it; it’sgotapadstal
feel,”saysWill.TheeggsareEddie’s,
thebreadforsale(alsostarringin the
deliciousdishesbuiltaroundtheslice)
is fromWoodstockBakery.Egg&
Shouldersbringsin thepopularbeignets,
sauerkrautandjams.“Welovethosekinds
of suppliersbecauseit’salmostlikehome
industry,”explainsSteph.“Myfriend
makesthelemon-and-poppyseedcuties,
another one bakes the vegan tahini banana“We’vecreated
a microcommunity
ofweirdoswhocome
hereeveryday.That
warms my heart”SEA POINT STORE