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INNER-CITY GAZETTE
NEWS / FEATURES
14 - 28 JULY 2011
The latest addition to a string of businesses that are flocking back into the inner city
Hidden gem in Joburg Above : the Slicy Delicious restaurant in Joburg CBD.
Lynley Main
M
ore businesses are returning to downtown Joburg, fuelled by the city’s public and private regeneration efforts. Sandwiched between the towering office blocks of downtown Joburg lies a hidden gem. This is a health restaurant, Slicy Delicious, the latest addition to a string of businesses flocking back into the inner city. Opened recently at the corner of Commissioner and Rissik streets, this may seem an ambitious location for a restaurant, perched next to an optometrist and in full view of the never-ending stream of traffic. Yet it turns out this is actually the ideal place to set down roots. Owner and business development manager of the restaurant, Mandla Ndlovu says this is their target audience. “Being in the CBD makes it a good location for meetings and lunch breaks.” The idea first sprouted in August 2010, and it took the intervening 10
months to get established and open the doors. The restaurant is based on a simple premise of ‘healthier and leaner’. “We capitalise on people’s attitudes to health and push health consciousness,” Ndlovu says. But if thoughts of roving packs of bean sprouts and rabid broccoli are drifting across your mind, there’s no need to worry. Options such as muesli and fruit, crunchy salads and healthy but flavour-filled sandwiches abound at Slicy Delicious, while hearty old favourites such as juicy burgers, wraps, curries and oxtail stew are also on the menu. “Our food is one of our value propositions. Our chef, who worked in Cape Town before, is well-experienced,” Ndlovu says. This experience comes through in not only the taste, but in the presentation as well. A wrap may just be a tortilla filled with edibles, but at this Slicy Delicious restaurant it does not look like just an unknown mass thrown together on a plate.
Fresh ingredients are combined to provide a simple but tasty meal, which will be enough to get you through the working afternoon. What makes it even more tempting is the restaurant’s free delivery service, which operates within the CBD and surrounding areas like Braamfontein and Parktown. “The deliveries have been successful so far, and our operational model is based on making deliveries. It is a revenue earner as lots of people can’t come into town themselves during their lunch hour.” In addition, Slicy Delicious also caters for corporate functions such as training sessions, with platters ranging from sandwich trays to finger-snack trays. The platters serve up to 15 people. The restaurant is open from Mondays to Fridays, and only opens on Saturdays or Sundays if a corporate function has been booked. “But as time goes on, we may open seven days a week if there is demand,” Ndlovu says. joburg.org.za
Zamikhaya Mpiyonke of Deaf SA contributes to the debate. PIC : INNER-CITY PRESS AGENCY
City’s language barrier seminar ‘Language centre should be established in the city’ Sizwe Mathe sizwem@inner-city-gazette.co.za
T
he recently hosted language awareness campaign at the Yeoville Recreation Centre concluded that language barrier is a major concern to society. According to Thuli Mlangeni; assistant director for Migration Unit at the City of Johannesburg, the main objective of the campaign is to integrate immigrants with the South African community, and also establish the effects of language barrier in the community. “There is mistrust when there is a language barrier. For us to foster social integration we need to set a conducive environment so that both immigrants and local residents can treat each other as brothers and sisters. Immigrants should not be always speaking French among themselves, but we also need to learn
their languages,” says Mlangeni. She adds that a language centre should be established in the City. “From the response we received it is clear that there is a need to establish a language centre. This is the first consultative meeting but we will have more in other regions around the City,” adds Mlangeni. Provincial Director for Deaf SA Zamikhaya Mpiyonke, who made his presentation in sign language, says many people have myths about how deaf people live. “It was a beneficiary workshop. The integration of deaf people to society must include a two percent quota, access to general services and access to information readily available in visual fashion,” explains Mpiyonke. Adilia de Sousa of Bienvenu Shelter adds that learning other people’s languages helps to prevent cases of xenophobia and is vital in the integration of society.
Police seek stolen baby Crime Reporter crime@gazettelive.co.za Hillbrow police are appealing to anyone who may have information about a baby (pictured) who was stolen from the Door of Hope baby shelter in Berea recently. Hillbrow police spokesperson Sgt Jenny Pillay says the one month-old baby girl was stolen by a woman who pretended to hand over another baby belonging to a friend. “The suspect came into the shelter with a blanket and explained that she had the baby wrapped in it, but refused to show the baby to social workers. She allegedly said she would hand the baby over once the baby’s mother had arrived. The suspect managed to take another baby
who was in a cot and wrapped her in that blanket, and slipped out of the centre with the baby.” Sgt Pillay said a missing child docket has been opened at the station. “Police appeal to members of the the public who have information to call the following numbers: 079 541 2033 or the Hillbrow police station on (011) 488 6511.”