Happy Women's Month! Today's fun fact is a homage to some of the most iconic women Melville's ever seen - the organisers of the first Melville Mardi Gras in 1986: Mariada Goosen and Beverley Gurwicz. They were Melville forces to be reckoned with!

In today's Melville Untold,

• The Free State girl who's feeding Melville's soul (and changing lives) 🍖

• Our Green Spaces Are Safe... For Now 🌳

• #JoziMyJoziWalk 🌇

Let’s go. 

— Aubrey Moloto and Kele Jackson

The Digest

The Free State Girl Who's Feeding Melville's Soul 🍖

There’s a real buzz at the pink building on 7th Street in 2025. It began with the Airbnb upstairs and the Sorcery Coffee Shop last year. Since then, this spot has turned into a lively hub for local businesses. Melville Mansions has welcomed Resource Art Gallery and the focal point of today’s story, Erica Louw’s Gourmet Gimba. Plus, a new restaurant on the corner is on the way!

From Free State to Freedom

Erica fits right into Melville. She’s a creative soul with a warm, lively personality. Growing up in the Free State, she was already cooking at age three. When you talk to Erica, you can tell there’s a big story behind her energy. She listens closely and makes you feel like you’re the only one in the room.

Like Gino of the Tintanic, growing up in a small conservative Free State town left Erica feeling misplaced. She found her first taste of spiritual freedom when she left to study Opera at Potch University in the late 2000s.

The Jozi Journey Begins

She moved to Jozi from Potch in 2014. She first lived in Brixton to be closer to work, having begun a career in the arts handling operations for touring symphony orchestras and choirs.

Erica's career was on the up. Socially, she was bitten by the Melville bug. She gravitated towards its vibrant nightlife and atmosphere - such a contrast to where she'd grown up. Being in Melville made Erica truly feel alive, opening her up to an array of people and cultures. She began to become her true self, immersing herself in the area and forming strong bonds with her newfound, chosen tribe.

The Washington Detour

By the end of the 2010s, Erica's booming career had her move to Washington, D.C. - a life-changing move. She got a big contract with an orchestra. Just as her career's linear progression was reaching new heights, eclipsing her wildest dreams, the wretched pandemic hit. She had to come back to Mzansi only a few months after arriving in DC.

Rock Bottom and Rising Up

Returning home, Erica faced tough times as her once-bright career quickly dimmed. She had left her home in the care of her friend. During this time, Erica formed a close bond with her and her family as they supported each other through the pandemic. She speaks warmly of her friends children as if they were her own.

From Arts to Eats

This character-building phase gave birth to a swift career change. Since the arts had "stalled," she went back to moments that resonated most from her Free State youth - cooking. Erica is intense; she doesn't do anything half-heartedly. She immerses her whole being in every venture (and adventure!).

With a fierce passion for food, a hunger to succeed, and a determination to provide for her chosen family, Erica began selling food items during lockdown. Onion marmalade and cordials in a community WhatsApp group eventually grew into a meal delivery service, "Erica's Eats," founded with George von Berg.

The Vegan Era

Erica's Eats started as a vegan brand amid growing demand for quality plant-based food. The business did well operating from a home in Brixton before moving to 9th Street Melville. As the country opened up, they thrived at local markets and added catering alongside their meal delivery services.

Soon after the pandemic, Erica went to work at a circus in France. While she was away, George kept the business going and started using the name 'Gourmet Gimba.'

Trading Places

Three months later, Erica came back, just as George left to teach English in Korea. They noticed the demand for vegan food was dropping, so they decided to offer more variety.

That’s how Gourmet Gimba began as it is today: serving a mix of meals, running as a dark kitchen, doing well at markets, and building a strong reputation for corporate catering.

Growing Pains

But Gourmet Gimba wasn't all sunshine and roses. Erica describes those early days as "a steep learning curve" filled with "logistical nightmares." Capacity issues at her home kitchen meant preparing for late-night events; they had to offload stuff unsafely in the middle of the road at night, and trudge things up and down from a second-floor flat she used for storage.

One of her biggest challenges? Bootstrapping by the laces! No capital meant getting good at managing stock and cash flow - fast! She even had to borrow a deep fryer from home.

Being an avid learner and in love with this journey, Erica made it through these early stage challenges and became a problem-solving guru. They're now a business that's created work for nine people.

Current Success

Gourmet Gimba now only caters to high-end clients and corporates. They're currently upgrading their kitchen to reopen on Uber Eats so they can serve more affordable meals and cater to the community.

For now, you can gimba-out on their delicacies at Resource Gallery's Pop-Up Sunday Lunch - a beautiful collaboration between businesses in Melville Mansions every last Sunday of the month.

More Than Just Food

The name Gourmet Gimba was George's idea - a Bao inspired brand that plays with the idea of food so delicious you wolf it down. Gimba is a playful way of saying glutton.

Erica speaks deeply about the business being more than just food service; it's a vessel for social justice. Gourmet Gimba aims to create "a safe space for comfort and connection,"  with their Sunday lunches promoting dialogue about similarities rather than differences.

Sustainable Impact

She emphasises sustainable development over superficial corporate social responsibility like giving out t-shirts with logos to people. The business is committed to empowering employees by providing opportunities for upward mobility within the business and in their personal lives.

What success looks like for Erica: people who work for Gourmet Gimba, especially those from impoverished backgrounds, being able to afford medical aid, better housing, quality education, and tertiary support for their children.

Gourmet Gimba believes in supporting South Africans of colour, aiming to play a role in eradicating the lasting effects on previously disadvantaged groups. They've identified a growing need to support men of colour, with loads of government initiatives and social justice projects globally empowering women.

I Love Melville

We ended in proper Snaps on Seventh style with a serious enquiry into her love for this beautiful neighbourhood and her number one memory.

Erica is inspired by the Melville community's open-mindedness and creativity, their will to foster solutions to problems. She appreciates "their lack of pretence and how any fakeness is quickly shut down or exposed."

Her best memory? When she first moved to Melville, after a night of joling on the strip with her cousin, they sat blissfully on the pavement outside the Spaza at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 7th Street. Hungry as hell, they indulged blissfully in a packet of Lay's chips at 2am, thinking about how far they were from conservative Free State. Resonating with the spirit of Melville, finally "opening up."

And If you enjoyed today’s delicious (we hope) read consider buying us a coffee. 

What’s Happenin’ 🤔

Women's Day is being celebrated all month! Lots of events and specials. Don't miss out!

Check out the events calendar for regular events - The Melville Pulse Events Calendar 

Melville Weather For The Week 🌤

Wednesday 

21° 🌡️ 6°  | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 1% | SSW 7 km/h 💨

Thursday  

23° 🌡️ 8° | 🌤️ | 🌧️ 1% | ENE 7 km/h 💨

Friday 

23° 🌡️ 8° | 🌤️ | 🌧️ 1% | ESE 9 km/h 💨

Saturday 

19° 🌡️ 8° | ⛅️ |  🌧️ 55% | NE 11 km/h 💨

Sunday

19° 🌡️ 7° | ☀️ | 🌧️ 25% | N 11 km/h 💨

Monday 

22° 🌡️ 7° | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 1% | N 9 km/h 💨

Tuesday 

22° 🌡️ 7° | ☀️ |  🌧️ 0% | SWS 11 km/h 💨

Live & Music Events Lowdown 🎸

Here are your music grooves for the week!

14/08 | Thursday | 7 pm | chiesa di PAZZO LUPi | Likhona Camane & Andrei van Wyk ft. DJ Aureli | R100

15/08 | Friday | 4 pm | Coca Restaurant and Lounge | Blaze Park: The Underground | Free

For more updates as the week goes on, visit our instagram page @snapson7th or our new Melville Pulse event calendar

Civil Matters 👷‍♀️

Our Green Spaces Are Safe... For Now

A few weeks ago, word came out that the Johannesburg Property Company was looking to sell land that wasn't generating much revenue to private investors. We spoke to Jonathan Thompson of our ward’s council to gauge the situation and get a status update.

These consisted mostly of our green spaces: Marks Park, UJ Sports Grounds, Westdene Frog Dam, Westcliff Cemetery, Johannesburg Botanical Gardens (Emmerentia), and Protea Sports Club, with talks of “mixed use” development.

Ward 88 Councillor Nicolene Jonker headed up a coalition of councillors, including our own ward 87 Councillor Jacobs and Genevieve Sherman of ward 69. They alerted the public and appealed for signatures on a petition to stop the sale of these sacred heritage sites.

Turns out the initial selling process started illegally (Oops). The petition did extremely well reaching well beyond our wards and before it could reach its 10,000-signature target, the notion to sell was withdrawn. This marks these heritage sites and landmarks safe... for now. The council expects them to try again at some point.

The Tail End 🐾

Help Sandy Find A Home

This gorgeous Malinois cross Africanis is looking for her forever family. Sandy is 1-2 years old, loves children, and adores going for walks.

Ready to welcome this beauty into your home? Contact 078 488 817.

Pet Winter Wear Competition

Don't forget to vote for Melville's 2025 best-dressed pet!

Cast your vote by emailing us at [email protected] or pop into Ziggy's Pet Pamporium to vote in-store.

Voting closes 1 September.

Markets Watch 🎪

Vendor Spotlight

We caught up with Louisa Jansen van Nieuwenhuizen, owner of the Crest stall at Melville Market at Kruis. Louisa is a "folk herbalist" working with organic medicinal plants using "time-honoured, traditional methods."

She handcrafts remedies in small batches; infused, steeped, and pressed by hand in the same manner as generations before us. Her focus is gentle, earth-based wellness that supports the "body's natural rhythm and wisdom."

Products you'll find at her stall include her popular specialised herbal tinctures, which are concentrated plant extracts. Look out for:

• A massive selection of organic tinctures for wide variety of use

• Soy wax candles with citronella

• Organic Luxury hand soaps

• Aromatic Bundles with a selection of aromatic plants and flowers (decorative or for burning)

• Mood spritz

• and more!

Catch the Crest stall at the Melville Market at Kruis Church every Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm.

Art In Melville 🖼

August Exhibitions & Special Events

Our thriving art scene is buzzing this Women's Month. Here's your quick guide to openings and events at local galleries.

Stokvel Art Gallery has two confirmed openings. First up is "Agency of Objects" this weekend, 16-17 August. It's a solo exhibition by Gwen Miller, curated by Mandy Conidaris, who's on a roll with several exhibitions at Stokvel this year!

At the month's end, they open "Epicentre" by Sam Savage, described as "Awareness in the middle of it all. Menopause, climate change, war, family and crazy bats!" Yikes, sounds intense!

The Resource Gallery opened "The Colours Of Love" on First Thursday, featuring young artists: Bongani Vincent, Mduduzi Twala, Katlego Maphoso, Nduvho Mphindi, Lesedi Moduli, and Kagiso Simphiwe Nyalunga. The exhibition runs until 2 September. Resource is also planning workshops and mini events. Dates to be announced soon. Keep your eyes on our gig guides.

AA Art Gallery continues with their vibrant roster. First is collaborative group show "Raving In Johannesburg," running 23 August to 23 September. Then there's a nude (👀) life drawing workshop on 24 August. Time to find out if your stick figures have improved since primary school!

Melville Mudroom offers a cool 20% discount on wheel throwing and hand building for Women's Month. They have a collaborative exhibition at the Origin Centre at Wits from 21 August to 16 October called "The Meaning Of Home." RSVP to book your spot!

InDoni Arts & Entertainment - the new kid on the block, on the ground floor of 27 Boxes will screen work by current exhibiting artist Lefifi Tladi. His "Altered Perceptions" exhibition runs for one more month, ending 1 September.

So much for no art scene in Melville, hey? We call this thriving! 🤌 

Extra Sprinkles 🧁

Jozi Walking Tours

On 6 August, Jozi My Jozi collaborated with Johannesburg In Your Pocket and Gauteng Tourism Authority to launch a revival of their acclaimed JoziMyJoziWalk project. Perfect timing for World Tourism Day!

The project is a "community-led walking festival celebrating and showcasing our neighbourhoods with immersive, story-rich walking routes led by local champions." (Snaps On Seventh? Is that you?)

Proposal submissions are open until Monday, 18 August. Twelve people will be chosen from select neighbourhoods (including our beloved Mellies) to give tours over World Tourism Day weekend, 27-28 September.

Winners must attend workshops and briefing sessions from August to September. Tours will be sponsored by the coalition. So, to all you aspiring tour guides, stop procrastinating and get those proposals in!

Let's put Melville back on the map!

Jannie Takes Europe

Local legend and Agterplaas founder Jannie Du Toit has been doing amazing things since passing the guesthouse torch to focus on his music. He's been touring the country, performing his brilliant Dutch ballads to crowds everywhere and recently came home from playing in the Cape.

Now Jannie's tuning his guitar and rehearsing for his 'Oppiekitaar' tour of the Benelux region (that's Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg for the geographically challenged) this October and November.

Looks like Europe is about to get a proper dose of South African 'kleinkuns'. Forget biltong, we're exporting pure musical poetry. Watch this space!

Thank you! 🙏

Thanks for joining us for another hood check-in! If you enjoyed the read, do us a solid and buy us a coffee.

Got an event happening? Need fresh content for your social media? Support the team by booking our photography or videography services. We can help with copywriting too!

Share this email with a friend who still believes in Melville magic. ✨

Stay cool, stay caring and stay cultured,

Til next Wednesday Melville,

Yasou ✌️