Hout Bay’s beloved Clay Cafe endured an intense fire over the weekend, but all was not lost and the cafe is still fully functional. They are well known for family fun and offer unique activities alongside good food.
The fire took place on June 16 and caused severe damage to the collections area and the private seating area – thankfully the restaurant, outside seating and play area were not affected. Firefighters worked well into the early hours of Sunday morning to bring the fire under control.
Unfortunately, the existing items that were to be processed in the kiln and oiled have been destroyed. Clay Cafe shared their sadness in a post on Facebook, “All precious items have been sadly destroyed. We cannot express the sadness of seeing the thousands of items shattered on the floor”.
The family that resides on the property, and their home, were not harmed by the fire.
Spokesperson from Clay Cafe, Bjorn said that the cause of the fire is under investigation, “We are not sure what caused the fire, and we don’t want to speculate. We will have a fire inspection to figure it out.”
He went on to assure the public that the cafe is still open for business and indicated that processing of items painted may take a longer time, “We have more kilns but they are further offsite which means that processing may take longer.”
In a true South African style, the community of Hout Bay came out to help the cafe as they dealt with the fire and the Clay Cafe is thankful that no one was harmed.
With the upcoming school holidays, the clay cafe is still an ideal spot to let your kids explore their creative side.
Picture: Clay Cafe/ Facebook