A farm in the middle of nowhere — featuring a world-famous roadside pub with a head-spinning collection of autographed underwear dangling from the ceiling — is on the market for a small fortune in the Little Karoo.
It was a practical joke, ages ago, that catapulted Ronnie’s Shop - a humble cottage farm stall to sell fruit and vegetables – into the now legendary Ronnie’s Sex Shop, comprising a pub and “roadkill cafe” frequented by locals, bikers and tourists along Route 62 wine route linking Cape Town and Gqeberha.
One evening when I came home, it was 2am, I saw I have a sex shop. Someone had painted Sex [between Ronnie’s and Shop] on the wall
— Ronnie Price, owner Ronnie’s Sex Shop in the Karoo
With an asking price of just over R30m for the 217ha farm, would-be buyers of the property from owner Ronnie Price will likely need a strong constitution, and polished diplomacy skills, to accommodate its curious visitors.
Price purchased the farm in the late ’80s, planning to sell fresh produce. “I only came up on weekends and painted ‘Ronnie’s Shop’ on the wall,” said the 75-year-old. “One evening when I came home, it was 2am, I saw I have a sex shop. Someone had painted Sex [between Ronnie’s and Shop] on the wall.”
He was initially furious but later noticed the bright red name emblazoned on the exterior walls was attracting curiosity, and opened a pub.
“I’ve had plenty of memories, too many to mention, and many experiences. Every one of them has been life-changing. I should write a book about it one day,” said Price.
They include countless parties into the early hours of the morning, laughter, being verbally abused, helped, disliked and supported through a crowdfunding campaign to keep the business afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pub's name is a misnomer – apart from the underwear inside there are no sex toys for sale . “Ja, they pull in and then look around all surprised. Big disappointment. Sometimes they leave their wives in the car, just in case, you know. They go out and call them in: ‘It’s OK, there’s no sex here’,” Price is quoted as saying in the Sunday Times Explorer: Rediscovering South Africa, a book published in 2001.
“You get too drunk to drive, I make sure your mates drive you home. If you got no mates, you just sleep it off on a couch somewhere. Sometimes their wives come and fetch them, which can be fun.”
Patrons are welcome to write on the walls of the pub. Almost every centimetre – including the bathrooms, ceilings and ceiling fan – are covered in black ink. Teddy bears, foreign currency and business cards jostle for space on every surface around the bar.
“We thought it was a sex shop,” reads one of the scrawled observations. Most consist of names of patrons, the date and country or place of origin. Bras and walls are covered in messages from Pretoria and as far afield as Australia, Germany and Switzerland.
Among the scrawls are the curiously named “Mr Lovebite” and “Dr Hotstuff”, along with a named sergeant and constables from “Belhar SAPS”, “De Wet at the Cape 2016”, “Die Eloff’s” and “Benni & Bianca”.
“We are not here to look, we are not here to listen, we are here for the beer,” reads another message.
Price's granddaughter Nikki van der Struys, 30, who spent many a weekend and school holiday on the farm, said her grandfather had always been up for a “jol”. She said: "My first driving lesson was with him, even my first beer. He has such a cool sense of humour and was always fun to be around. My grandad is getting older now.”
One of Van der Struys’ fondest memories was being made to feel rich as a child when her grandmother gave her R3 in coins. “I asked my grandad if he thought I was rich, and he said yes. We went to the shops, [and] I took some items that were, now obvious, a lot more than R3. He took my R3 and paid for it all, making me feel super rich and super special."
Price said he planned to live on a part of the property in his “retirement”, and was reluctant to part with the pub but acknowledged he was getting older.
The farm, surrounded by gravel roads and mountains, is about 27km from the town of Barrydale. Estate agent Mario Simon from Suidkaap Eiendomme said the property would be sold “as is”.
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