In Voortrekker Road, in Goodwood, Cape Town, a new bookstore is a treasure trove of rare finds, contemporary paperbacks and unusual volumes.
It’s a friendly community space where there is so much going on that it’s becoming a place where locals are spreading the word about this venue, that offers activities that are serving a hungry community of locals and immigrants.
Gavin Joachims, the brainchild behind the store and which carries the name of his publishing company, said: “This is kind of marking the start of the revitalisation of Voortrekker Road.”
One of the first things Joachims did was to allow children to spend their afternoons in the shop at no charge, using it as a safe space to do their homework and read.
With a welcoming frontage, the interior has entrance space decked with tables and chairs and a counter that offers tempting treats - for the princely sum of R5, you can get a delicious cappuccino and munch on home-made sandwiches for the equally ridiculous price of R10 - which Joachims makes himself.
He said the store is populated by young entrepreneurs at 7pm week nights when it closes for the day, when they can thrash out and exchange business-savvy ideas.
An established publisher, Joachims will also launch the work of authors at his bookstore, the first of which is Cassidy Alexander, a 12-year-old poet and writer from Hanover Park.
The Gavin Joachims Publishing Bookstore is at Shop 1A, 25 Voortrekker Road, Goodwood.
The official launch takes place tomorrow at 2pm.
Contact Gavin Joachims on [email protected]) or phone 060 341 4091 for more details.