The Durban site which hosts FreshStop at Caltex North Beach has been a garage since the 1930s. Playfair Road was laid out around 1930 after Old Fort Road had been extended beyond Kingsmead Cricket Ground to the beachfront in the 1920s. It was named after Mr AC Playfair who organised visits of underprivileged children for holidays at the “Star” seaside home at Ocean Beach. In 1931, it was the only building on Playfair Road. By the end of that year, Lewis had opened his new garage on the other side of the road. Apart from the petrol station, it seems he sold second-hand cars and carried out repairs. The first photo dates from about 1934, when Lewis sold the garage to a gentleman known as Mr Armstrong.
The original Lewis’ Garage in Playfair Road in the early 1930s
Renamed Armstrong’s Garage, it operated there until the early 1940s when it closed. The premises stood vacant for a while until Myhill Garage opened in the 1940s and remained until the 1960s. From then, until today you will find a Caltex Garage operating on the site.
The original seaside home became the Star Seaside Children’s Home and was later demolished in 2022 and replaced by a larger, modern building which has since been vandalised. The eThekwini Municipality is currently attempting to evict illegal squatters in a lengthy legal proceeding.
The Caltex garage on Playfair Road
Congratulations to the FreshStop North Beach Road retailer, Nasim Parak for continuing to grow the legacy as he prepares for the transition to an Astron Energy branded site. Congratulations on executing an outstanding job in creating a warm and inviting ambience for customers at his store.
Feel free to visit the store at any time on any day for exceptional service and walk through history with Nasim & his team at FreshStop at Caltex North Beach on 30 Playfair Road, Durban.
