Granny, family left stranded after their popular Soweto shop was looted

Dicky's Cakes, a family business based in Soweto, fell prey to the looters who left broken shelves and shattered glasses on Monday last week.

This family business has is popular  for selling the best themed cakes, scones and biscuits. Over the years, they managed to open four branches in Mapetla, Bara, Spruitview Mall and  Johannesburg CBD. 

The business was started by Dikeledi "Dicky" Lethea in 1996. 

It had sustained the Lethea family for about 25 years but sadly on Monday two of their  mini bakeries in Bara and Spruitview Mall were looted. 

Tshepo Lethea, 31, said his grandmother was devastated by the lootings. 

When she started the business she used to sell cakes at her workplace.

"My grandmother used to sell cakes at her workplace. Now for her to get to work in town she had to go to Bara first. People loved her cakes at Bara and by the time she got to work they were finished," Lethea said. 

He said Dicky then decided to expand her business so that everyone could get her scones and biscuits in the morning. 

"With our savings we managed to open other shops in Spruitview Mall and Johannesburg CBD. This  is the business that had sustained us as a family over the years. We have never received any form of assistance from the government, we did everything from our savings," he said.

Lethea said the looting came at a time when small businesses had been facing challenging times.

"Small businesses are treated unfairly by banks with exorbitant charges. We were also hit by the Covid-19 lockdown. Now its the looting of stock, taking of expensive equipment like stoves and fridges that took years to accumulate. This is very sad but we will survive."

Lethea said they were trying to assess damages in both shops.

"We had three staff members who were rotating  between the two shops. At the moment we are all waiting to see what is going to happen. For us to rebuild the two shops we need six baking stoves and two display fridges," he said.