Cape Town's ice-cream lovers had 24 hours of whiplash this week. On Monday, Food Lover's Market said it would close The Creamery, the 15-year-old brand it owns through its Seattle Coffee arm, shutting all four shops and the Salt River factory because the business no longer fit its long-term strategic focus. By Tuesday, the story had flipped.
A change of heart
Food Lover's said “a number of parties who see value in the future of The Creamery brand” had reached out, that the Durbanville branch would now stay open, and that it was “hopeful there may be a future for The Creamery in some form”. The reversal followed an outpouring of disappointment from customers on social media — the kind of public affection that can suddenly make a struggling brand look more valuable to an outside buyer than to its current owner. Food Lover's called the original decision to close an “incredibly difficult” one. For now, the stores in Mouille Point, Palmyra Junction and Newlands remain on course to close, and the official end date for the business is still 16 August, so any rescue would need to come together quickly.
A homegrown favourite
The Creamery was founded in 2011 by former chef Kate Schrire and her business partner Marianne Visser, with a simple idea: natural ice cream made from ingredients sourced on local farms. The brand made its name at markets and festivals before opening shops, and its small-batch, farm-to-cone approach and playful flavours — jasmine blossom, strawberry basil, carrot cake — set it apart in a market dominated by mass-produced tubs. It opened its first shop in Newlands in 2013, with a factory in Salt River, and Seattle Coffee, owned by Food Lover's Market, bought the brand during the pandemic, when its previous owners were battling a brutal trading environment. Schrire stayed involved until 2023, by which point the company employed around 65 people.
The Creamery built a loyal Cape Town following over 15 years, and that goodwill is part of what makes a rescue plausible: a recognised name with genuine affection behind it is far easier to relaunch than to build from scratch. Whether a new owner steps in will decide if a much-loved local brand gets a second scoop — or joins the long list of pandemic-era acquisitions that quietly melted away.
