Stellenbosch struck gold last week when The Meeting Place and Skêr Barber Co., both took home first place prizes in the Kfm 94.5 Best of the Cape Awards.
The competition serves to showcase the very best of the Western Cape’s local businesses, experiences, and communities across a wide range of categories, said Lauretta Ngakane, the Kfm 94.5 head of corporate communications.
Pictured outside their restaurant, The Meeting Place, Dieter and San-Mari Rix and their son stand next to their Kfm award for the Best Breakfast Spot. PHOTO:Brigid Taylor
With 30 different categories, the process begins with an open public nomination process. Then, the top five finalists in each category are announced, and a public vote determines the winners, said Ngakane. This year, the competition received over 18 000 nominations and over 440 000 votes.
On 21 August, Kfm 94.5 announced Skêr Barber Co. as the Best Barber in the Western Cape, and The Meeting Place as the Best Breakfast Spot.
(From left) Aidon Amos, Oshwin Olivier, Devan Claasen, Kimo Viljoen, Kyle Vorster and Chadkee Knipe, are all barbers at Skêr Barber Co. in Stellenbosch. The team won “Best Barber” category in the Kfm 94.5 Best of the Cape award for the second time in a row this August. PHOTO: Brigid Taylor
Owned by Dieter Rix and managed by his wife San-Mari Rix, The Meeting Place isn’t exactly a stranger to this award. The restaurant, located on Dorp Street, also placed first in the same category in 2024, which happened to be their first year owning the business.
The Meeting Place, located on Dorp Street, Stellenbosch, draws in both the morning crowd and the evening one, says owner Dieter Rix. Empty tables aren’t easy to find at the establishment that recently won a Kfm Best of the Cape award. PHOTO: Brigid Taylor
“We are very blessed,” said San-Mari, about the win and the exposure that comes with it.
“They say on the radio [Kfm 94.5] has 1.1 million listeners, so the reach is enormous,” said Dieter.
The couple both accredited their success to the people they work with: “It’s a team effort. They say it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to run a restaurant,” said San-Mari.
Skêr Barber Co. is also a two-time winner, taking home the Best Barber title for the second year in a row. The store is located on the corner of Bird Street, next to the Drotstdy Theatre.
Skêr Barber Co., located on the corner of Bird Street, has been in Central Stellenbosch for seven years. The back-to-back winners of the Kfm Best Barber Award were booked and busy this Saturday. PHOTO: Brigid Taylor
“If you are a client of Skêr, you’d want to tell the people that you know you cut your hair by the best barber shop,” said Kyle Vorster, one of the barbers.
The exposure from winning the award has been good for buisness, he said.
“A lot of people listen to Kfm. We do definitely get clients who have heard about us through the radio station and come to see what the hype is about,” said Vorster.