Of course, the effect of COVID heavily depends on the location of a café - and for Kaya, being positioned in the heart of a popular park certainly helped. But there’s far more to it than that. Candy and Benita have transformed what was once a café-of-convenience into a true destination. Regardless of whether Kaya is open for sit-in or takeaway service, every customer experiences the same exacting standards.

Candy and Benita are self-professed perfectionists. They select produce of the very best quality (including Matthew Algie’s Darwin coffee, of course), they prepare everything to the highest standards (latte art always perfect under every takeaway lid), and they seek out staff that share their very unique brand of warmth and competence.

“South Africans are typically confident and social people” explains Benita. “We love to gather, to eat, to enjoy life - and we employ people who exude the same friendliness and consideration. Our team really cares. They get to know our customers, remember their names, their orders, their pets. It gives us confidence that Kaya is in good hands when we are not here”.

And this certainly appears to be a winning formula. To give you a sense of Kaya’s success, during the second lockdown, the coffee machine (an eye-catching Elektra Barlume) was producing 600-800 takeaway coffees a day.

Since they opened, the park has been awarded Green Flag status. “Not that I’m saying Kaya helped in that,” says Candy with a wry smile. But all joking aside, Kaya’s importance to its local community, and to the park in which it sits, is clear for all to see.

So what are the building blocks of a great café business, I ask. “Love” is the response. Candy and Benita have a daily presence at Kaya. They are the fabric of the brand. Their hands-on approach extends from creating the captivating interior designs; to delicious home-baking; to extracting shots on the espresso machine.

They have also created a ‘family’ rather than a workforce. Three times a week you will find the entire Kaya team (and some of their customers) improving their fitness and wellbeing at boot camp in the park. Not your every-day employee perk.

On a practical level, they choose suppliers that can be relied upon for consistently high-quality produce, and with whom they have built trusted relationships. "I first came into contact with Matthew Algie when working with exclusive hotels, and recommended them when I helped a friend with his coffee shop” explains Candy. “I knew the coffee was great and I also wanted to continue the good relationship I had with the account manager”

As we embark on a fresh new year, what's next for Kaya? These are two women who never sit still and whose faces light up at the mere mention of future plans. “Next month our outdoor kitchen will arrive,” says Benita with a palpable sense of excitement. We’ll build a pergola and some Moroccon style low seating, which means we can offer relaxed outdoor dining all year round. There’s a bandstand in the park too, and in spring and summer, we’ll serve picnics to enjoy alongside live music.

We’re also creating a bedroom upstairs. People can stay for the full boutique B&B experience. But more than that, they’ll get a flavour of our interior design style, when we launch our design consultancy service.”

It’s clear that this is a partnership made to last and that many great things are yet to come. “Ultimately we are best friends living our dream,” says Benita. “None of this feels like work”. If they had their time again would they do anything differently, I ask. “No” comes the response, in perfect unison.