The concept of Hello! It’s Me originated while on a trip to Madrid for a music festival a few years ago. I saw the words Hello! It’s me, graffiti’d onto a garage door in the suburbs. It was a small coffee / sandwich / noodle shop owned by an elderly Asian lady. The whole experience just hit different, I loved her vibe, the authenticity of the place and told her that I want to open up a store in South Africa that gives people the same energy that she gave me.
We set out to create a space that would be comfortable, beautiful and a little quirky at the same time introducing guests and friends to new food ideas. We opened our first store in 2018 and have enjoyed every moment in navigating Hello! It’s Me’s style, new customers, and incredible staff. We serve contemporary fusion food using a wok-based kitchen. This means we use quick heat while retaining the flavour.
We are constantly looking for inspiration for new dishes. We pay special attention to the developing trends in the food. The demand for vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free options has soared, which results in exciting research and development in the kitchen. We have an extensive fresh juice and smoothie menu; it changes with the seasons and is hugely popular with our customers.
We are serious about suitability and focus on responsible sourcing. We offer craft beer from a local brewery and source many of our products from local suppliers. Most of our fresh produce is grown on our farm, which prides itself on avoiding any commercial pesticides. We use natural bio fertilisers for all the crops and are constantly researching new methods in biodiversity.
We are excited about our new store, especially the location and being part of this development. The store look and feel will be similar to our current store, with a couple of unique elements, we are at the beach after all!