Apr 2021 Ballito Umhl

Bold brave barista
For the past three months, self-taught barista Sbusiso Nkolothi has been whipping
up cappuccinos and lattes while simultaneously winning the hearts of all those who
meet him at his Ballito coffee shop. We got to know the man behind the counter of the
Coffee Lab at the Lifestyle Centre.
Text: Leah Shone | Photograph: Mary-Ann Palmer
People, personality and a positive attitude are the things that 33-year-old Sbu
says have gotten him to where he is today … and he’s determined to help others
find the same success.
Life hasn’t been easy for the Zimbabwe-born barista, who ended up living on the
streets of Durban after moving to South Africa in 2010. Despite the adversities
he’s faced though, Sbu has managed to use every opportunity afforded to him
over the past 11 years, in pursuit of his dream of owning his own coffee shop.
Sbu grew up in Victoria Falls and was exposed to the hospitality and tourism
industry from a young age. He worked as a golf caddy and waiter and ‘hustled’
curios in his youth. When he heard about the World Cup, he decided to take a
chance and come to South Africa. But things didn’t turn out as planned. “That’s
how life goes. Sometimes you make plans and they don’t work out. I ended up
in Durban, knowing no one and with nothing. I had a choice - I could go home
with nothing, or make it work here.”
Sbu spent five, hard months living on the streets, but says he learnt so much
about himself and others during this time. “Most people who on the streets have
bigger hearts than you realise. They aren’t all bad people. Life and situations have
led to them being where they are and doing things they don’t want to in order
to survive. It’s easy to point fingers until you’re in that same position,” he says.
When he finally landed a job at a takeaway spot called Gallito’s, Sbu’s life finally
30 Get It • Ballito Umhlanga April 2021
started to turn around. “I had been so
desperate and was grateful to wake
up and have a purpose every day.”
Within weeks he earned the owner’s
trust and was given a key to open
up the restaurant. “I was living in a
shelter at the time and kept getting
sick because it was so dirty, so I
started living in the restaurant without
anyone knowing.”
Doors started to open for him and
when Sbu landed a job as a runner at
well-known Durban North restaurant,
Mamma Lucianas, his life started
improving. “I had friends and a
community. Marco, the owner, helped
me change my life by pushing me to
do better and building me up.”
Sbu was soon made barman and it
was then that he started discovering