The OK urban convenience store, deli and coffee shop, a new innovative store concept that is entirely cashless, opened its doors at Stellenbosch University's (SU) Tygerberg Medical Campus in October 2024. The store, located in the Tygerberg Student Centre (TSS) will only be the second store of its kind within the OK Group to open its doors.
The store boasts a chic, upmarket modern look and feel that creates a welcoming environment for students, staff and visitors at the medical campus. Despite its stylish appearance, the store provides affordable, ready-made meals, striking a healthy balance between quality and value for the campus community.
At the store opening launch, Anita Nel, Chief Director Innovation and Commercialisation at SU, welcomed the OK Franchise Division to SU's Tygerberg campus and community, highlighting that this would be the start of a promising partnership between SU and the commercial sector with a greater purpose of serving the SU community.
The partnership between SU and the OK Franchise Group was led by Faizel Moos, Manager of The Letting Office which forms part of the Innovus innovation and commercialisation division at SU. Moos has been integral to the success of the store implementation and will continue to manage the relationship between the OK urban Franchise Group and SU.
With only one other OK urban located in Sonstraal the OK group are confident that this first ever franchise store on Tygerberg campus will be equally successful. “OK urban is not the future, it is the now. It is a brand that has entered the market at exactly the right time. This whole thought process was driven by the elite fraternity that studies on this premises", notes Elia Hadjidakis, owner and managing director at OK Retail Division (OK stores).
The OK brand, now a hundred years old, is committed to staying with the times and implementing sustainable practices across all their stores. As such, the OK urban at TSS not only offers cashless payments, but will also provide digital receipts for all transactions.
Under the guidance of TV personality turned celebrity chef Prim Reddy the store has a curated selection of daily nutritious and freshly prepared [PM1] ready-made meals, that are halal certified. There is a sit-down coffee bar, a sushi bar, artisanal bakery and a variety of fresh meat and produce.
To accommodate the schedules of students and medical staff, OK urban offers extended trading hours:
Weekdays: 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM
Saturdays: 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM
Sundays: 7:30 AM to 8:30 PM
“The addition of the new store and its extended hours demonstrates SU's dedication to the wellbeing of its campus community by providing essential items and nutritious meals at a safe and convenient location without having to leave campus grounds", says Moos.
For more information contact Faizel Moos: Faizelm@sun.ac.za
