Fired up and ready to go!

When an electrical fault above the drinks fridges caused the Umdloti Kwikspar to burst into flames on Monday, July 15, the small seaside community was sent reeling by the ripple effect of not only losing its only supermarket but also its nerve centre of community and connecting (North Coast Courier, 26 July, Ripple effect of Spar fire felt far and wide).

At the time, experts reckoned the supermarket would at best only reopen in March 2020. However, owners Richard Gunning and Neil Slatter set out to defeat the odds and the Umdloti Kwikspar reopened its doors on Thursday, December 12, just in time for the December rush.

“From the trauma has come excitement and happiness,” said Gunning, overflowing with gratitude as he welcomed his customers.

The new store captures the spirit of Umdloti with classic surfboards mounted at the entrance (including one of Durban surfing pioneer, Baron Stander’s old logs) and shop fitting done in recycled wood salvaged from the Rainbow Chicken farm near Camperdown when it was demolished.

A smaller receiving area and new upstairs office opened up space for a bigger retail area with customer toilets and a mini butchery.

Perhaps the most exciting upgrade is the addition of about ten new parking bays that will be made available in the New Year.

In addition to standard fire regulations, the store is now fitted with an integrated fire detection system and extra fire hoses – one of the challenges fire fighters faced when dousing the blaze was access to water.

The team overcame their share of menacing challenges en route to opening in time for the Christmas trade. Forensic investigations delayed clean-up by a month at which stage the site was so contaminated that a specialised decontamination team had to be brought in – the stench of rotten meat, chicken and dairy was unbearable.

“It is a miracle; honestly it is a miracle that we have done this in this time frame. The biggest miracle was getting the builder we wanted,” said Neil Slatter’s wife Sue at a prayer meeting the night before the reopening.

Sue said Luke Frael has built big buildings like this one before and they knew as a trusted friend, he would go the extra mile to get the job done right and on time.

“This project was close to my heart. These are good people and Richard (Gunning) has had so many personal struggles that it was easy for me to do,” said Frael who in spite of sometimes working until 3am, has fallen in love with Umdloti and is looking to relocate to “the 568”.

Expressing her gratitude for the Umfdloti community’s unprecedented support, store manager Shante Naicker said she has never seen a community stick together like this before.

“Our customers stood by us. They have done so much for Richard and I and now we are back to put a smile on their faces.”

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