With a surname like Napoli, venturing into the world of food and drink, you would expect that the person who bears it is crafting handmade pasta or spinning pizzas. But that’s not the case for young Natasha Napoli, who, despite coming from the family that owns the much-loved Gardens pizzeria, Bacini’s, has decided to forge her own way, into the world of health and juicing with Nourish’d Café and Juicery.

Natasha started her career in the beauty industry, training in hair and makeup, but left Cape Town in 2010 to see the wider world. She spent a few years au pairing for families in The Netherlands and Italy, before boarding a yacht and hitting the high seas. Never feeling quite satisfied and settled in what she was doing, she decided to heed what she felt like the Universe was telling her and change tack completely. She travelled to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, where she completed 260 hours of Vinyasa/Hatha yoga training before returning home to the Mother City.

Originally her idea was to open a yoga studio, and excited with this plan, she begged and pleaded with Papa Napoli to convert garages under Bacini’s into a studio. Upon further investigation, she realised that the space would be too small to work effectively as a studio but she was not to be deterred. Another passion that she had been harbouring, which tied in with her philosophy of living a healthy, conscious lifestyle, was the concept of juicing.

During her travels, visiting juice bars became a thing, to the point that she took pictures and compiled a mood board in the hopes of one day opening her own one, perhaps in conjunction with a studio.

Life is a journey of unexpected twists and turns though, and often the plan you think is meant for you, turns out to be just a segue into the next big idea.

So, when the studio plan wasn’t working out, the idea of converting the space into a local juicery happened, and the result is Nourish’d Café & Juicery.

Being a young business owner is not easy. Looking back over the past few months, Natasha tells us that opening Nourish’d has been the hardest thing she’s ever had to do, but has also been “the most rewarding adventure of a lifetime”. Almost every small business owner would probably say the same and the satisfaction of going your own way is what makes it truly worthwhile.

We chatted to Natasha to find out a bit more about the concept of Nourish’d Café and Juicery…

Since early 2010 there has been a steady rise in specialty juice and smoothie bars in Cape Town, did the prospect of so many competitors scare you?

Honestly, I had no idea what I was getting myself into! The juice and coffee industries are two of the most saturated in Cape Town; I took on both! Why? I have no idea! Crazy I know. Did it scare me? Thinking back on it now, no, not really, it only drove me to be better. It fired me up.

What sets Nourish’d Café and Juicery apart from other juice and smoothie bars?

Probably first and foremost, our commitment to being as environmentally conscious as possible and making as little negative impact as we go. Our drinks are served and sold in glass, with paper straws; we don’t use single use plastics. Our takeaway cups are also biodegradable/compostable.

My parents think I’m nuts but I’m just following my heart and my passion. I want to try and educate South Africans to become more aware/conscious of the impact that they have on the environment. I’m not saying I’m going to reverse climate change but if I can shift a few people’s naughty habits every day, then I’ll be more than happy. Over the moon actually.

 Do you sell premade detox ‘kits’ for people who would like to go on a juice cleanse?

We are only a month old, so of as now, no, but soon soon soon. Promise!

 What are your most popular juices and/or smoothie at the moment at Nourish’d Café and Juicery?

Blady Blazin’ Berry Vegan Smoothie

Making me Cacao Vegan Smoothie

Happy Hippy green Cold Press Juice (not too sweet – doesn’t have too much apple)

Apart from following a healthy diet what suggestions do you have for living a healthy lifestyle?

Balance in all aspects. Although I have not found that yet, I do know how important it is to have it in your life. Right now I’m on 90% work and 10 percent Tash time (yoga, reading, forest walks etc.) Soon, I would like it to be 50/50 as I know how important it is to have that balance in your life.

If you’re not getting rest, exercising and finding time for yourself, you probably won’t be eating right, which leads to you feeling sluggish. If you’re feeling sluggish you not going to be exercising and your mental clarity will be poor. It’s all about finding that balance and making sure you are getting in all those soul nourishin’ activities to balance out the workload.

Nourish’d Café and Juicery must produce a lot of pulp from juicing; is there a use for this?

Yes! We use the almond pulp in our energy balls. We add the other organic matter to our worm farm that produces black gold soil and worm tea. We use this on our granadilla, basil and mint plants outside.

It’s my dream to have a Nourish’d compost drop off. The plan would be to make rich, fertile soil from the organic matter and then sell it to our neighbours.

It’s also another one of my dreams to have my own veggie garden in the parking lot of Bacini’s to grow produce for the juices. Then I know who the ‘farmer’ is and how the produce has been grown.

Hopefully, one day, Nourish’d Café and Juicery can become 100 percent sustainable. Solar energy, veggies from the garden, all glass, zero waste. Ah, that would be the best!

In your range of juices/smoothies, do you have one that is great for boosting the immune system since autumn is here and cooler weather is on its way?

Yes, we have concentrated ginger shots that have turmeric, lemon, cayenne and chilli… oooh! We also have our Flow and Glow cold pressed juice, which has orange (vitamin C), apple, ginger, basil, chilli and Cayenne pepper. Our Sunrise Sun Salutation cold pressed juice has carrot, orange, lime and Echinacea (huge immunity booster and can prevent colds and flu).

So what are you waiting for? Pop into Nourish’d for a juice, nut mylk or Fairtrade coffee. You may even happen upon an impromptu yoga class on the deck!  

The Garage, CNR of Kloof & Hof Street, Gardens, Cape Town.
There’s ample free parking behind Bacini’s Pizzeria and you can have your car washed while you juice!

Opening Times
Monday – Friday: 07h00 –17h00
Saturday: 09h00 – 15h00

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