#Food

Pop-ups have taken over Johannesburg. Pop-up clothing shops, pop-up restaurants, pop-up coffeehouses, pop-up night-clubs…you name it. It’s all popping up.

I don’t know if the pop-up concept exists in other places or just here. But in case you don’t know what a pop-up is, basically it’s a business that opens on a temporary basis with the understanding that it could close or move at any time. In some ways, the non-committal nature of this concept is kind of irksome. But in other ways I think it’s cool. It creates urgency and excitement to go and check out the pop-up before it disappears. And pop-ups are particularly well-suited to Joburg, which is one of the most rapidly changing cities on earth (and also has a lot of unused or under-used retail space).

Braamfontein is hip. It’s so hip I can barely stand it. Every week at least one new restaurant/shop/bar/hotel/gallery opens in Braamfontein, each one hipper than the last. I love going there (Braamfontein is a 10-minute drive from Melville) and watching the hipness evolve.