Discover one of the oldest trading businesses on Dorp Street, Stellenbosch.
Oom Samie Se Winkel (Uncle Samie’s Store) is an iconic stop on any visitor’s agenda. Our store continues the fine old tradition of the rural trading post, and we stock everything from straw yard brooms to handcrafted clothing, a selection of South African spices and teas, and arts and crafts.
Browse at your leisure through our vintage keepsakes, traditional wares and homemade treasures. Oom Samie’s been selling on the same premises for more than 100 years and our store endeavours to preserve the memory of a traditional trading post.
The plot on which Oom Samie Se Winkel stands today was purchased on the 19th of May, 1904 by the Volsteedt family for their son, Samuel Hannes Volsteedt. Born in 1879, Samuel had a weak back, which made him unsuited to farm work. However, the farm’s loss was the town’s gain when he took over the shop that already existed on the plot and began trading as S J Volsteedt, General Dealer. Samuel later became known and loved as ‘Oom Samie’.
Oom Samie lived and worked on the plot, serving the town of Stellenbosch and providing wares and produce until his death in 1944. He never married but was a friend to all, and despite passing the business on to his nephew, the store remained known as Oom Samie Se Winkel. A testament to Oom Samie’s gentle and loving nature remains enshrined to this day at the Stellenbosch Cemetery, where the description on his headstone reads: ‘He was a good man.’ – Acts 11, Verse 24.
Before the days of supermarkets and shopping malls, there were general dealers who served the community with a range of essentials and luxuries.
They were part grocer, part tobacconist, part spice merchant, part tea and coffee seller, and part confectioner! Today, Oom Samie Se Winkel maintains the character and charm of a traditional general dealer and offers the same goods as yesteryear.
Visit Oom Samie Se Winkel on Dorp Street and adventure through a traditional general dealer that maintains the heritage of more than a century ago.
