It was early afternoon on 26 February 2012 and I was hungry. 

For a recent and not fully formed transplant to Cape Town, that day was especially strange. After waking up to the fact that someone had stolen anything that can be run on power, including all the laptops, I had to accept that that day’s issue of iMaverick, our attempt at launching a daily newspaper on iPad, would not come out that morning, the only time in its two-year history.

An aimless and confused morning somehow morphed into afternoon and I decided to clear my head by taking a walk from our recently burgled Bo-Kaap apartment to the City Bowl. Also decided I might as well eat something, and looked for the first restaurant that seemed decent.  

It is funny how life can change through seemingly small decisions; the event-tree can branch in so many ways, creating so many alternative universes. In this universe, the first decent-looking restaurant I came across was Clarke’s in Bree Street.

I remember like it was yesterday – I remember the name of the waitress who said a warm hello, Kathy from Poland, I remember the first meal I ordered, a pulled pork bun with extra chips and excellent strong cappuccino. I remember how instantly at home I felt and how friendly the mixed bunch of young people was, older hippies and executives who looked like they would prefer to change out of their suits into something more relaxed.

The place looked special, a great Chicago-style eatery. And so I stayed. For eight years.

After all these years, I can tell you: The place did look special, but it turned out to be extraordinary.

The food was of stunning quality and the owner’s insistence on quality was bordering on obsession – I remember them not serving Huevos Rancheros for weeks, just because they could not source a specific kind of organic black beans.

Clarke’s will, of course, always be known for reinventing the humble burger, away from chaos and the complication of a gazillion toppings back to the elegant simplicity of a superior cheeseburger. I never lost a bet with my meeting partners that they were about to taste the best burger of their lives – even though they were always the sole arbiters.

(Photo by Trip Advisor)

As Daily Maverick was growing, and in 2014 and 2015 also losing our premises (we were low on funds, retrenching journalists was out of the question, so we decided not to rent any office space), Clarke’s became our unofficial headquarters (not that the owner, Lyndall Maunder, and waiters knew anything about it).

Some of my most wonderful memories remain firmly connected to Clarke’s. This was the place where, at the back, I met many a whistle-blower, friends of Daily Maverick, future contributors, and precious sources.

When I called amaBhungane’s Stefaans Brummer to reveal the existence of the #GuptaLeaks to him, it was Clarke’s that was the natural place to meet. We even took a picture on that 7 April 2017, so we would not forget that special day that would eventually result in one of the most consequential investigative efforts in the world in the past few decades.

When Daily Maverick celebrated its 10th birthday, I guess you know by now where we celebrated. It was always going to be Clarke’s.

It was perhaps the only restaurant I know of that was equally attractive to the day and evening guests. This oasis of daily life/business would after 5pm put on its hip clothes and transform into a magnet for young people.

The place was always buzzing.

And then. Then came The Pandemic.

Faced with an unprecedented, extinction-level event, Clarke’s owners tried their best to keep the suddenly listing ship afloat. It was tough. Many gave up before them. President Ramaphosa’s renewal of the ban on alcohol sales was the death knell that everyone feared, Clarke’s people among them.

So last week, it was announced that on 25 July, Clarke’s is going into a deep freeze, possibly forever. Sixty jobs lost, gone.

The news left me stunned and saddened. The Pandemic found its way to take another piece of Cape Town’s soul. I wonder, when will it be enough? DM

PS: If you want to help Clarke’s, and I’m talking to you, well-heeled people of Cape Town who had so many wonderful moments there, this would be a good time to act. Go to https://www.clarkesdining.co.za/ and make a donation, or purchase their merchandise. Remember, these are the best burgers in the world – we must fight against their extinction.

PPS: I’m sure you all have your own Clarke’s. Please help them. Your children and grandchildren will greatly benefit from your goodness.