By Buziwe Nocuze
• Sandiso Dumezweni used seven years of barista experience to open a coffee shop at Khayelitsha’s Site C taxi rank in April.
• Taxi drivers were expected to prefer full breakfasts, but they have become some of the coffee shop’s biggest supporters.
Sandiso Dumezweni took a gamble that many people thought would fail.
Instead of selling big breakfasts at the busy Site C taxi rank in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, he decided to sell coffee.
People warned him that taxi drivers and owners wanted proper meals in the morning, not cappuccinos and café lattes.
But Dumezweni trusted his experience and took the risk.
Now the people he was warned would not buy his coffee have become some of his biggest customers.
“We decided to come up with something unique. We started in April 2026, and we are getting support mainly from owners and drivers,” Dumezweni said.
His shop sells different types of coffee as well as muffins, chips and chocolates. He plans to add smoothies when summer arrives.
Dumezweni did not enter the business without experience.
He worked as a barista for more than seven years before deciding it was time to build something of his own with a business partner.
“I have the experience of the business I am doing,” he said.
But choosing a taxi rank as the location worried people around him.
“They warned us against selling coffee at the taxi rank because taxi drivers and owners only want to eat a full meal in the morning,” Dumezweni said.
“Surprisingly, they are the main supporters.”
For him, that support has proved that assumptions about what taxi drivers want are not always true.
“The risk we took is paying off,” he said.
Coffee before hitting the road
Dumezweni opens early to catch drivers, owners and passengers starting their day.
Customers can choose hot chocolate, café latte, Americano and cappuccino, with prices starting at R16 and going up to R22 depending on the drink and size.
For taxi driver Malizole Mngweba, 40, having coffee available at the rank was something different.
“Selling coffee at the taxi rank and getting support shows that we don’t only eat a full meal in the morning,” Mngweba said.
He said some drivers had previously bought full breakfasts simply because there was nobody selling coffee nearby.
“We will continue supporting him,” he said.
Passengers are also buying into the idea.
Mandisa Gcinana, 35, now makes Dumezweni’s coffee part of her morning routine before work.
“Before going to work, I make sure that I get Dumezweni’s coffee to start my day,” she said.
Gcinana admitted she was one of those who doubted the business would survive at a taxi rank.
“He took a risk and it is now paying off,” she said.
She hopes the business grows enough to open shops at other taxi ranks.
Turning skills into work
Dumezweni believes his journey carries an important message for young people struggling to find jobs.
He said people should look at the skills they already have and think about how they can turn them into opportunities.
“The advice that I can give young people, especially those who have been looking for work, is to start something they love because I believe everyone has a skill,” he said.
For Dumezweni, seven years of making coffee for other people gave him the skills to finally bet on himself.
And at one of Khayelitsha’s busy taxi ranks, that gamble is starting to pay off one cup at a time.
Pictured above: Sandiso Dumezweni opened a coffee shop at the Site C taxi rank in Khayelitsha after working as a barista for more than seven years.
Image source: Buziwe Nocuze.
