Over the last six years Janet Brewer and her partner Marius Slabber have hosted one world class act after the other at their Route 62 Rock Road House, but they did not expect that the food and in-house entertainment at the Karoo Saloon would also become a key selling point of the business.
In fact, Janet recently confessed that although the South African bands and their fans who flock to the venue account for visitors from all corners of the country, the ones who come back, tend to come back for the delicious meals prepared by kitchen manager Carol Plaatjies.
“I’ve had times when I’ve danced. I’ve had times when I sang along and I’ve had many brilliant times, but the only time I’ve cried with pride was when we hosted our first Heavy Metal concert” – Janet Brewer
Another reason why people make the trek to the Saloon is to hear Candice Erasmus sing a song or two – and the beauty of this is that both Candice and Carol were by no means the stars they are today when their respective journeys at the Saloon started.
They were given an opportunity to shine and grabbed it with both hands.
“These are two Barrydale girls who are now known nationally if not internationally,” Janet said.
Backed by the vision of creating a place where great vibes, great food and great music is considered business as usual, these ladies became the most valuable assets of the business.
“People return because of the quality of the food and even though it is fairly simple, the menu satisfies just about just about everybody,” Janet noted.
Time to retire… again
When Janet first bought the Saloon she and Marius had already retired, but then they fell in love with the Karoo.
There were a few goals they wanted to achieve and with all the boxes ticked, they now feel that they have done their bit.
She recently listed the business and property for sale and, for the second time, Janet will retire.
TO VIEW THE LISTING CLICK HERE
She said that Marius’ passion for staging live music and her passion for making people have fun and enjoy themselves has now run its course and although you will still see them at (insert the name of the live show in the Western Cape) they decided that the day-to-day of this industry no longer serves them.
Looking back on this epic adventure that resulted in them becoming Rock Royalty, it turned out to be the difference they made in the lives of metal heads that stands out above everything else they had accomplished.
“We evolved into heavy metal which was Marius’ first love anyway and then once we knew what we were doing, we decided to put on the first Heavy Metal festival.”
The first of the two Metal Karoo festivals they staged featured heavy metal pioneers Mind Assault and it was at this performance where tears of pride rolled down Janet’s cheeks.
“It was the first time I actually cried while the music was playing and felt so proud that we could pull this off,” she recalled.
“At that time after Covid, there were no Heavy Metal venues or concerts. They are opening up again now, but we were pleased that we were able to satisfy those people who were interested in heavy metal music.”
Life after the Saloon?
While the future of the venue is yet to be decided, Janet said with certainty that they would no longer be involved as of 1 January 2023.
She said that Marius has many hobbies like playing his instruments (guitar and drums) he’s a brilliant painter and likes gardening and golf and that she will be happy to just relax and enjoy life.
Regardless of what happens at the Karoo Saloon from 2023 onwards, both Janet and Marius will enjoy their second retirement knowing that, in a relatively short space of time, they made a huge difference in the lives of musicians and music lovers alike.
