Hood Times: Norwood on hipster trail

14 January 2015 - 02:05 By Yolisa Mkele
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For those who lived in Johannesburg's northern suburbs and were teenagers in the early 00s, Norwood's Grant Avenue is a place of hazy nostalgia.

The area's nightlife was made for the kind of tomfoolery the young and reckless live for. It was also awash with quirky restaurants, coffee shops and bars that gave it the trendy atmosphere that Maboneng now has.

Unfortunately, since then the area has largely disappeared from the "good times radar". In an effort to get it back on the map, Factory on Grant has become a leading light in the street's rejuvenation.

Were it not for the giant neon orange sign hovering above the roof, the centre would be difficult to notice. There are none of the obvious shopping mall-style entrances. A visitor must either pass through Vovo Telo, dodging a sea of waiters, or slink through one of the side entrances, experiencing what children in the Chronicles of Narnia go through walking through the wardrobe into another world.

Styling itself as an "anti-mall", (in the mould of 44 Stanley in Auckland Park) rather than the now ubiquitous market, Factory on Grant is a trendy lifestyle centre focused on art, crafts, design and food.

As it turns out, an "anti-mall" is essentially a shopping centre that has eschewed the principles of big retail in favour of artisanal goods. The stores nestled within the Factory on Grant's bosom seem to have been handpicked to send shivers of delight down hipster spines. Among others, it features Smelt Glassblowing studio, where glass is blown onsite, the Bayliss Gallery, an antique furniture store and various other shops dedicated to the ideals of craft and design.

No potentially trendy hot spot would have a chance at survival without some kind of attempt at a rooftop bar. Sitting squarely atop the head of the Bayliss Gallery is Crafter's, a bar and restaurant that overlooks the neighbourhood and the surrounding suburbs.

Unlike some of its contemporaries, Crafter's has no airs, graces, bells or whistles. It is a mildly spartan wellspring of drink and food in the way that bars should be.

Despite its outward appearance, Factory on Grant is not Norwood's answer to Neighbourgoods or Arts on Main. It lacks the variety and fluidity to genuinely compete with either. Instead, it is a new beginning for a street that was once cooler than bell bottoms.

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