Information about the store
Although it is now a ruin, Sardelli’s Store was once a bustling trading post beneath towering bluegum trees.
Owned and run by a man named Sardelli, who was Greek, the store was best known for its alcoholic concoctions that drew in numerous customers. The drink was brewed at the site and is said to have been made from marula fruit. While on the surface, his actions might have seemed above board, there is a story that says he worked with a gang of local cutthroats who would target passing Shangaan mineworkers and steal their hard earned pay. The gang operated between Mozambique and the Witwatersrand.
When the Anglo Boer War broke out, the trading post was abandoned and left to ruin as Sardelli joined the Steinacker’s Horse, a group of irregular British Border Guards.
