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Coffee Bars:

S

sparkstopper

proper brummie kid
Does anyone remember the 'Coffee Bars' in the city! I used the 'ESPRESSO' in Martineau St. We would congregate there in the early 50s to do our homework. Pupils from Handsworth Tech: & George Dixons Grammar.(in fact I met my first wife there later working behind the bar). and then there was 'El Sombrero' in Horsefair...had a coffin for a Bartop...had many a punchup there!!
 
Thanks for that jennyann, just read through the thread: Yes they were great establishments which really only lasted for a short period, but were quite essential to the youth of the late 40s and 50s, sorry I missed the thread at the time: 'Great site:'
 
Hi Sparkstopper: You are so right about the coffee bars being "quite essential to the youth of the late 1940's and 1950's". After WW2 it took quite a long time before
different types of entertainment clubs and cafes came to Brum. I was in my late teens in l959 but not able to officially drink alcohol. The newly opened coffee bars with espresso coffee and hissing machines making the brews were fascinating places to be in. Mostly run by Greek Cypriots they were certainly different places to the snack bars that we were used to. I'm from Erdington originally and a espresso coffee bar opened in 1958 called El Toro in the High Street. It was 9d to get in and you received one cup of coffee. It was packed all the time and had a juke box which played all the latest songs. Happy memories.
 
Happy memories indeed Jennyann, spent quite a lot of time in El Toro.
I was 16 in 1958 and as you say too young for pubs, the coffee bars were a godsend to teenagers in those days.
 
Does anyone remember or know where La Fiesta was? From an old diary I see that I used to go there quite frequently in the early 60's, together with The Cabin and the Sombrero. I know where the last two were but where was the Fiesta?? It must have been in the town centre but I can't place where it was.
 
sparkstopper, l remember the the espresso bar in Martineau street, it was across from the no6 tram stop, we always got a espresso when in town....they always made it just how l liked it.... l went to a coffee bar years ago on a visit back home and asked for an espresso and had quite a shock what l was served, and when l asked for some milk l had a look like l came from another planet...l stick to tea now ..Brenda
 
Jayell, I think La Fiesta was on Summer Hill behind the old central library. I think this may be a photo of it, but I only remember the Las Vegas café that was close by.
 

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Thanks Phil and JennyAnn - I must admit that Summer Hill or Summer Row doesn't sound familiar to me at all, but then it was a long time ago!! Thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction. I have been wondering where La Fiesta was for some time now. I had imagined it was somewhere in the town centre but obviously I was mistaken.

Judy
 
Thanks Phil. I guess Summer Row is more likely. Now I know where the Fiesta was. I really don't remember going there, or to Summer Row, but seemed its seems to have been quite a regular coffee bar after visiting other places. Judy
 
Thanks for the link Brumgum. The photos show a panorama that is far removed from the one I remember, but then it is a while since I visited Brum. Good to see them though.
 
Hi Judy,

I'm sure I used to go in the Fiesta in 1959 or thereabouts, but I can't remember it being in Summer Row. I'm glad that two members have finally remembered the espresso at the top of Martineau Street. This was probably the one most renowned for regularly chucking us out because we weren't buying enough coffees, though most of them participated in this practice from time to time. El Toro: was that the one that used to employ a folk singer around that time?

Maurice
 
Hi Maurice - Hope you are well. Our paths must have crossed many times as we both seemed to go to the same places around the same time!! The Fiesta - like you, I have no memory of it being in Summer Row but at the moment that seems to be the only likely place. Judy
 
Hi Judy,

Well nothing seriously wrong I don't think, but I'm waiting for some blood test results, as is Jan. I hope you and yours are keeping well too.

In 1959 I just about knew where Summer Row was, but it was not a street I frequented at all, but like you, I did go to the Fiesta fairly often. I asked my brother last night as he is younger than me and stayed in Brum until about 15 years ago, but he couldn't remember either. He couldn't even remember going with his then girl friend, Theresa, into the one in High Street by the cartoon cinema (Tatler?) and I knew that was one of his favourite haunts at that time. I wish digital cameras had been around at that time!

Of the people that used to frequent these places with me, one now lives in Coventry, one has passed away, one is now living in Grimsby and appears to have lost his memory, and the girls have presumably got married and changed their names. So I reckon we're both doing well to remember these places! Take care,

Maurice
 
This is must have been an early coffee bar called The Shakespeare Cafe 299 Stratford Road. Dinners 4d, 6d or 8d. It opened at 5:00 am for early morning coffee. It was also licensed for billiards.

Stratford Road Coffee Bar.jpg
 
I have just been told by a friend that the Fiesta Coffee Bar was at the back of the Forum Cinema in the late 50s. He remembers going there. Said it was so small you had to drink your coffee outside! Does this ring a bell with anyone?
 
Hello Judy,

That could well be possible. It was certainly fairly central because we would walk from the Espresso at the top of Martineau Street to both the Jungle in Snow Hill and the Fiesta and sometimes El Sombrero in Horse Fair. Ethel Street no longer exists apparently and there is a gap in Midlands Historical Data's Kellys from 1956 (probably too early) until 1962 (most probably too late). When the new Library opens, they may have the missing volumes and perhaps someone living locally can do a lookup for us in say 1959 or 1960.The more I think about this, the more I think your informant was correct.

Maurice
 
Hello Maurice - Yes, my thinking is the same as yours! It makes more sense to me that the Fiesta would be more centrally placed and behind the Forum Cinema would be a much more likely place for it to be situated. Like you I used most of these places, the Sombrero included. If no one can confirm to us otherwise beforehand, I will try and find out in the Library when it opens as I hope to visit at the end of the year.

Judy
 
Good morning Judy,

Someone must have a photograph of the place, but doesn't visit BHF or maybe even go online. Most likely the address would have been either Stephenson Street or towards the bottom of Pinfold Street. Waiting a few months longer won't hurt!

Maurice
 
Love the names of some of these caffs: El Sombrero, El Torro, Mexicana, Zambezi, the Mikado, the Fiesta. I don't remember any of them, a bit before my time. Were many of them still around in the 60s? Viv.
 
I left Brum in January 1961, Viv, and the Fiesta is not listed in the 1962 Kellys. I'll check out the others later.

Maurice
 
Thanks Maurice. I think coffee bars have had an interesting history. Over time they seem to have changed to meet different social needs, such as an alternative to draw people away from the pub, places to discuss politics, a hangout for teenagers and now places to socialise (and be bamboozled by an enormous variety of different coffees !). I only remember a Druckers which I think, in the 60s, used to be on the ramp going into New Street station. Amazing cakes there too. Always loved the smell of coffee as you passed the Kardomah on Colmore Row, but never really liked drinking it until much older. Thought it was a very bitter drink when I was young and preferred tea. Viv.
 
Hi Viv,

Well there's coffee and there's coffee! And by and large, quality (and taste) are related to the cost of the beans. As I no longer drink milk, I think I would now find the original frothy espresso of the 1950s a somewhat disgusting weak drink! And from my recollections, it all tasted the same, whichever coffee bar you went in. You wouldn't find that state of affairs today. But the coffee wasn't important in the 1950s - it was the cost of having somewhere to socialise. There was more variance in the cigarettes most teens smoked than in the coffee they drank. Close to an approaching payday we would be on Woodbines, Park Drive and similar cheap brands. Immediately after payday it would be State Express 555, Senior Service and the better brands!

Maurice
 
Hi Maurice. This has got me wondering now. I don't think I know the difference between a Milk Bar and a Coffee Bar. I remember going to the Oxford (lots of chrome and high stools) on High Street with my mum and wonder if that was a milk or coffee bar. Viv.
 
Does anyone remember the murder at the Elasona coffee bar on Soho Road? I believe the culprit served his time and went back to Handsworth where he is still living.
 
Ha, ha Judy! The coffee bar culture must have passed me by. Hanging out at a milk bar with my mum just wasn't cutting it was it?!! I didn't become a teenager until the late 60s, so by that time I think it was probably easier to get into pubs/clubs etc under age. So I went straight from milk bar to pubs and clubs. Aww naughty, naughty. Viv.
 
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