STATION DRIVE PRECINCT

Words: Carla Gailey

Station Drive Precinct has become one of the hottest and hippest places to hang out. From ringing in the month with First Thursday’s, long lazy lunches at the Distillery, beer tasting at S43, finding treasures at the Vintager and exquisite jewels at some of Durban’s finest jewellers, Station Drive is bursting with so many things to do, see, buy and eat! We took a tour around Station Drive Precinct to see what is in store for their booming precinct. Open daily.

THE MORNING TRADE AT THE PLANT
The Morning Trade is a top quality weekly food market which focuses on providing an urban space for Durbanites to buy their weekly fresh produce, top quality meats, farm fresh ingredients, delectable specialities and community-conscious foods, as well as being a cool space to meet friends over delicious artisan food and drink… all in Durban’s coolest community-orientated development – the Station Drive Precinct. The Morning Trade is hosted every Sunday from 8am to 1pm at The Plant. Facebook: www.facebook.com/themorningtrade

CAKE LAB AT THE PLANT
The evolution of the original Shongweni Market patisserie, CakeLab brings humour and quirk to traditional baked favourites, most often with a nod to contemporary trends. Products range from the delicate and pretty chocolate ruffle cake to more bold and playful caricature creations in which fondant icing takes on caricature-like personality. Their couture creations are made to order with each individual cake, biscuit or pastry delicately crafted. No request is too obscure and everything from macaroon muffins to multi-layered red-glitter-lipped birthday cakes are approached with gusto. Recently CakeLab has started offering classes which allow you to master the art of Buttercream drip cakes for cookie decorating. Facebook: www.facebook.com/cakelabsa

PARKSIDE AT THE STATION
Parkside is a budget friendly pavement cafe at the epicentre of Station Drive. They serve breakfast, lunch, coffee and juice, and are caterers for photo shoots. Parkside prepares rotisserie chickens served with roasted vegetables available to take home daily for when you just don’t feel like cooking yourself. Parkside serves food they believe in, using local suppliers that they know and trust. Their free-range eggs come from Felicity’s farm; their juice is cold pressed; their organic preservative-free yoghurt comes from Derek in Balgowan; amazing pork sausages come from Hope butchery; and Ralph’s mother-in-law is responsible for baking their amazing cakes. Bonus: When the weather is pleasant- and they’re in the mood- they light up a fire and braai outside on the pavement, serving delicious braai-goodies! Facebook: www.facebook.com/ParksideDurban

THE FOUNDRY
The Foundry is a creative hub that offers co-working spaces and artisan studios. The idea of a co-working space has become very popular since the first movement in San Francisco in 2005. The movement came from the idea to combine freelancing working individuals with the structure of an office space. The Foundry’s studios have 24-hour access, Wi-Fi, communal meeting spaces, free coffee from Durban’s finest roasters, a reception area and a board room with large LCD screens. Their offices have an urbanised, creative energy that could inspire any individual to want to work! Facebook: www.facebook.com/foundrydurban

031 DISTILLERY
Home to the Durban Dry Gin, 031 Vodka, Agua Zulu Cachaça and Ancestors Absinthe. Founded in 2008, 031 Distillery, was created by Andrew Rall’s passion and love for Durban, a unique city that captures the energies of our diverse cultures, lives and traditions. With Andrew’s love for creating craft spirits, 031 Distillery was born. Each spirit offers you a distinct Durban flavour. Their gins, rums, absinthe, vodka and cachaça are all distilled, bottled and packaged on their premises. They offer tours and tasting of the distillery and a range of mouth-watering hand-crafted cocktails by one of Durban’s finest mixologists, Jason Andrews. The 031 Restaurant has an urban setting overlooking the rail-way line and has exclusive menu featuring their famous truffle fries, artisanal hamburgers and tantalizing sides. Facebook: www.facebook.com/distillery031

DON’T MISS FIRST THURSDAY’S
On the first Thursday of every month, artists, foodies and performers come together to share an evening of good food, music, art exhibitions. Station Drive Precinct comes alive!

MAKERSPACE
Owner, Steve Gray, likes to call MakerSpace a gym for the brain. MakerSpace is loaded with 3-D printers, laser cutters and other fantastic tools of the 21st century. MakerSpace is a place for people to ‘make’, ‘hack’ and be in a space of equipment that is easily accessible for them. Each person who visits MakerSpace is left utterly inspired, everytime. Steve, who studied Mechanical Engineering and his team at MakerSpace are aiming to have 200 maker space facilities open across the country by 2020. They host events and have created a unique team building experience for public and corporate team building. The MakerSpace has made its mark being a truly unique and fantastic opportunity for people to collaborate, be inspired by each other and to work together as a community. Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMakerspace

RENEGADE KITCHEN AT THE PLANT
Renegade Kitchen embraces the mobile food trend and entertains a more spontaneous food experience. This was owner, Lucy Markewicz’s avenue to creatively express through cross sections of food styles. She draws on her 13 years of industry experience to offer recipe development and finds styling along with menu consulting and training. At Renegade Kitchen you will find perfectly plated canapés to rustic and generous harvest tables or the trendier food stations, you can expect a whack of flavor and fun. Facebook: www.facebook.com/RKitchenSA

JANE SEWS AT THE DESIGN FACTORY
Inspired by nature’s authenticity, Jane Sews offers a slow fashion line of apparel, footwear and accessories, made up of classic and understated staples that are suitable for all seasons. Their focus is on comfort and utility translated into key pieces that you can build your wardrobe around. It is their hope, not only to create timeless pieces with lasting quality in terms of construction and style but also to connect people to the hearts and hands that make their garments. Each design element is carefully considered, mindfully produced and translated into key pieces you can build your wardrobe around. Facebook: www.facebook.com/JaneSewsZa

MICHELLE ROBYN JEWELLERY AT THE COMMUNE
Michelle’s passion for creating started at an early age, sitting on her granny’s floor making paper jewellery after school and that passion has now turned into a business. From her custom made, one-ofa-kind jewellery pieces to the MRJ everyday jewellery range, each piece is skilfully hand crafted, using traditional techniques in their workshop. MRJ love ‘gift giving’ and create personalised pieces with hand stamped messages on that create the perfect gift for a bride to be, a new mum, a friend who has just passed her exams- or any other moment that calls for celebration! Be sure to pop in to their workshop to see their gorgeous items, you may just fall in love… I know I did! Facebook: www.facebook.com/michellerobynjewellery

MOMENTI ARTISAN GELATO AT THE WAREHOUSE
Creamy dark chocolate, warm Italian hot chocolate, mmm.. Now that I’ve got your attention. Let’s talk about the most delicious Gelato in town. Momenti Artisan Gelato is owned by Edward Papaphotis, who specialises in small batch, premium quality gelato and vegan sorbets. Slowly churned, all their flavours are hand extracted the traditional Italian way. Momenti Artisan Gelato is the first in South Africa to bring this method all the way from Italy. Their flavours are flavourant, colourant and preservative free and are made only from fresh and natural ingredients. Edward attended the Gelato University in the city of Bologna and constantly pushes himself to create new and innovative flavours every week. For the more adventurous type, Momenti offers alcoholic Gelato and sorbets made with wine, beer or whiskey. Some of their most popular flavours include the 70% Belgian Dark Chocolate, Pistachio made from raw pistachio kernels, Plum & Ginger Sorbet, Lemon, Basil and Mint Sorbet and the White Coffee. Momenti prides themselves in serving their gelato in biodegradable cups and spoons. Facebook: www.facebook.com/momentigelato

CHRISTY-ANNE JEWELLERY AT THE COMMUNE
After studying her Bachelor of Technology in Jewellery Design & Manufacture at DUT, Christy-Anne decided to follow her passion for design and making. Christy-Anne Jewellery was launched in 2010 in a small home studio and today it is a well-known Durban brand based in the lovely Station Drive Precinct. Each piece is unique and exquisite and are thoughtfully designed and hand-made with love and care by Christy-Anne herself. Their studio is relaxed and inviting and allow their customers an authentic experience, allowing them to watch how their stunning jewels are made. Their company is inspired by people and the spaces they find themselves in. It explores beauty in simplicity, and value in craftmanship. Facebook: www.facebook.com/christyannejewellery

S43 HOME TO THAT BREWING CO.
S43 has embraced the urban feel of their environment and has used it as inspiration for their choice of décor and their menu. Tapas and street food from around the world, as well as gourmet burgers with some crazy twists are on offer. Their burgers taste like more, with a mixture of chuck and rump in their patties and delicate buns enriched with butter and eggs are what dreams are made of! They are also the proud home of lekker local urban brewery, That Brewery Co. Inspired by the craft beer momentum that emerged at the start of the decade, the proudly local special suds are brewed on-site and served cold from the tap and in the bottle. Tours of the brewery are available, so there is a chance for you to learn about how your favourite local craft beers are brewed, right before your eyes! Facebook: www.facebook.com/s43venue

OPEN PLAN URBAN EVENTS STUDIO AT THE DESIGN FACTORY
Open Plan is a co-working studio in the newly formed Station Drive creative precinct in Durban. Station Drive has become the ‘go-to’ place for creative, technology and lifestyle start-ups and entrepreneurs. The studio is a relaxed environment where creative people meet and work and share skills along with fantastic views of the Durban CBD and the Moses Mabhida Stadium. Their coworking studio suits freelancers, start-ups and small to medium business and those seeking to interact with a range of services in close proximity. The studio also doubles up as an events venue for all types of events, from dinner parties to music gigs. They provide a range of in-house creative services as well as being able to outsource to various team members. They are a grass roots organisation that was built from an idea and a will to make it reality. Facebook: www.facebook.com/openplanstudio

THE VINTAGER AT THE LOADING BAY
The Vintager is a menagerie of pieces which all have a story to tell. The store name alludes to owner, Amanda Jaffar’s eye for collecting, creating and curating, but it’s meaning, ‘to perfect something over time’ is most telling, as she tinkers, recycles, upcycles and rearranges on a daily basis, until she feels it’s just right. That is, until another perfect piece crosses her path. The store stocks men’s and ladies vintage clothing, decor, industrial, kitchenalia and collectables.
Instagram: @thevintager_sa