MEET THE TEAM
More Linden ‘can-do’ at Cafe DeeJon
A ‘can-do’ attitude and unwavering community spirit have always been part of Linden’s sub-culture, where it looks after
it’s own with passion and pride. The spirit lives through strong schools and Churches, one of SA’s best-known cycle shops and other long-established businesses, local security initiatives and caring support for retired or disabled folk.
So when the landmark Koffiehuis recently re-opened as a fresh, eclectic café style restaurant opposite another new icon, The Red Pepper production studio, in 7th Street, Linden’s modern revival was set to continue.
Jon and Murray, part of the family that began the refurbishment in March, share a rare passion for both community and service. Jon has been part of the Linden fabric since the 80’s when he bought his first bike from Jonene, and has been living in or cycling through the mini-republic ever since. So he knows about Linden history. Murray is a ‘foodie’ through-and-through, having grown up in his mother’s restaurant in the ‘Vaal. Now 26, he’s never done anything else.
But why the radical change in style ?
“Well, we don’t think it’s radical at all, and many of our traditional clients have returned, welcoming the fresh, clean eclectic look – far from what they remember the old place was degenerating into late last year,” says Murray. “Our roots go deep, so there’ll always be something for everybody and our Linden traditions are important to us.
“But 2012 is a time of change and diversity. So we thought we could easily mix a ‘can-do’ approach with a menu and wine list that offer broad appeal and are very much ‘on-trend’ with the rest of the café/bistro market. Besides ‘can-do’ our second buzz-word must be ‘diversity’
“We embrace the diversity that we see in 2012 Linden and we’d love to offer a through-the-day venue that can offer our new and old patrons something a bit special – breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. While the winter evenings have been a bit quiet to date, we have very exciting plans for the future, including theme evenings and other events.”
Café DeeJon has been open since 6th May and already the signs are there that it’s ready to resume – if not its old place – then certainly a new one in the Linden scene. It’s already hosting Community Security Forum meetings and Murray has gone to great lengths to build co-operative relationships with all his neighbours. “Modern day F&B is not about cut-throat competition, but about complementarity and choice ! We’ve seen these trends all around us, now it’s time for Linden to step up to the mark. Within 1 block of the 4th Ave , 7th St intersection there are no fewer than 9 F&B venues, each offering something a bit different. What more could a consumer ask for”?
Jon and Murray
