Roadhouses and drive-in theatres… Are they just good memories of a bygone era? Who still remembers the excitement when your dad parked his car in the parking area of the roadhouse, flickering his lights to call the waiter to come and get the orders? The fun started the moment the highly stacked baskets were carried to the car and the grid trays clipped onto the window. Good times, indeed.
People living in Mbombela or visiting our city now have the opportunity to again experience the fun of a visit to a roadhouse with their friends or family.
The big red flashing neon signboard that spells Abeega has quickly become a well-known landmark on the corner of the City Centre shopping mall situated next to the Old Pretoria Road/R40 intersection.
This establishment, which opened its doors for the first time last December, is a dream come true for Arnaldo Paulo. He mentioned the idea of a roadhouse to Petru Pretorius, who ran the popular A Bica Coffee Shop at Belladonna centre with him, but Petru wasn’t convinced.
After she and her daughter Yandè visited a few modern roadhouses in Gauteng, she realised that this might just take Mbombela by storm. She and Yandè also decided on a name for it: Abeega. All the food served here should be bigger and better!
“I have dreamt about opening a roadhouse in Mbombela ever since I arrived here in 2006,” says Arnaldo. “What always inspired me was the idea that this establishment is synonymous with family time. You get in your car, put away your cellphone for a while and sit and kuier with one another, while waiting for your food.
“Petru and I both believe in giving people their money’s worth. I hate going to a restaurant, paying a lot of money and still feeling hungry when I leave. At Abeega we give the client the best quality food for the best price and at the same time, it’s tasty,” he grins.
Petru, who is in charge of the kitchen, laughs and says they were actually overwhelmed by the public’s enthusiasm for the new roadhouse when they opened their doors last year.
Although she has been working in the catering business for many years, she didn’t have any experience in serving fast food.
At first, she wanted every hamburger that went out to be picture-perfect, but when the orders just came without pause, she realised that she would have to change her line of thinking. But, on one thing she stands firm: it might be fast food, but it is top quality.
The slap chips are made from hand-peeled potatoes, the hamburger patties contain only pure meat and are bound with egg and brown breadcrumbs. You won’t find any preservatives, soya or MSG in Abeega’s food. That was a steep learning curve, but nowadays things run very smoothly.
Customers should remember that everything is prepared fresh on the premises. This is not just another fast food outlet where the food comes readily prepared from elsewhere.
A very nice feature of Abeega is the wonderful music which is played in the evenings. It adds to the joyful atmosphere and people often get out of their cars and start to dance on the stoep of the building.
During the hot days, some of the customers rather get out of their cars and eat in the dining area, which is similar to typical American diners.
The inside of Abeega is decorated with bright pop art stickers and helps to make you feel as if you have stepped back into the ‘50s, when roadhouses and rock ‘n’ roll were big.
As you would expect from the menu of a roadhouse, Abeega lists a variety of hamburgers, club sandwiches, excellent ribs and a food item that was imported from the Cape: a Gatsby. This monstrous foot-long bread roll is stuffed with meat or fish and topped with slap chips, and has soon become a huge favourite at the establishment.
The food selection is amazing and you can even order a number of different pizzas here. You will also find milkshakes and sweet surprises like the legendary Banana Boats and Choc Nut Sundaes on the menu.
Loyal customers who got their daily R50 meal from A Bica Coffee Shop will be glad to hear that this is also now available on the same premises at Abeega. Petru and Arnaldo’s catering business is also still going strong. It just makes it so much easier to combine the three legs of their business on one property, they say.
“I enjoy every moment of working at Abeega. Our operating hours are from 7am to 10pm on Sundays to Thursdays and from 7am to 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. It is only a pleasure to be here and to watch people enjoy this experience.
“We have a wonderful team that works with us and without them, Arnaldo and I wouldn’t have been able to achieve what we have. His daughter, Michelle Veloso, does an excellent job with our Facebook marketing and we are thankful to both her and Yandè who helped with the roadhouse designs,” says Petru.
Arnaldo echoes her joy. “I am so proud of everything that we have accomplished here. It took a lot of hard work, but we did it with our own hands. We might have made a few mistakes along the way, but that was a wonderful learning curve. We really hope that anyone who hasn’t yet experienced this, comes over and enjoys something to eat and drink. Here at Abeega, size does matter!”
Details
Abeega Roadhouse: 062-095-7698
A Bica: 062-422-6842
Text: ALITA STEENKAMP. Photographer: TANYA ERASMUS
