Is there any more space to build a strip mall in Nairobi? Turns out there is.
I saw the Roselyn Square Luxury Mall on Redhill Road come up brick by brick each time I drove by. It looked plush; matt black, with lots of big windows. At night it shimmered and winked flirtatiously at passing motorists. I bet it started conversations in cars: Do we as a country need another strip mall? And in the middle of a revolution?
Out of sheer curiosity, I recently swung in there to poke my nose around. It’s a lovely space, spacious, with ample parking, eclectic stores, and great branding if you like shiny things. I like bars and lounges. So, I went upstairs to the Wine and Bottle Bar.
The vast “emptiness” greets you. And emptiness isn’t a lack of something, to be sure. You can have a roomful of furniture, but the room will still be empty. Having everything but still feeling empty, kind of thing. It felt like someone bought a container of furniture to throw at an empty room.
The bar was a little comma to this addition. I sat at this comma and was served by a bunch of sombre barmen who looked just about done with their job. They went about their job with the automated excitement of drying paint. I’m fascinated by souls like that; who exhibit little to no enthusiasm at their job, stumbling through the motions, looking at the clock to clock off. [The lovely hostess at the entrance was a real ray of sunshine, though.]
We had doubles of whisky. The music from the deejay was a real saving grace. The view through the long glass wall also came to the rescue – if you like staring out the window at passing cars like I do. (I’m still a child.)
Wine and Bottle Sports Bar feels like it’s on a journey somewhere, that I intruded in its adolescence.
Perhaps a few months later when one goes there, they will be surprised at how different it looks. How tall they have grown.
