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Coffee Bars:

Viv,

Judy has it one! I think I dropped out of the coffee bar thing in 1960 really when I became more involved in music. Musicians tended to patronise pubs rather than coffee bars and the music that we played was modern jazz and there wasn't much of that to be found on coffee bar juke boxes! We are talking about a very short span in years which reflected the London scene / Tommy Steel / etc. - perhaps five years at most?

Maurice
 
Yes on the old horse fair rd now Bristol rd ..I used to go to the El Sombrero and to the Jazz club behind it x
 
Hi Maurice. You are right. I think the Coffee Bar phase as we knew it only lasted a few short years, but they were the places to meet up with your friends, especially the Sombrero which I think was No.1 in the town and the place to be. When the licensing laws changed and more drinking/dancing clubs opened these became the place to meet up instead.

Judy
 
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Cliffe,

I certainly don't recollect a jazz club behind the El Sombrero - perhaps this came about after I left Brum?

Maurice
 
Anyone remember the Elasona on Soho Road? Used to go there from school (Handsworth Grammar) Froffy coffee in glass cups shaped like half a flying saucer!!

Used to go downstairs to the pinball machine,you could slide up the glass and get one of those metal rulers in to get your scores into the thousands,the Greek owner sussed us out and kicked us out,so we went to another coffee bar whose name escapes
me by the traffic lights at the junction of Soho Road and I think Grove Lane. HAPPY DAYS!!!
 
Yes! I remember the Elasona. I worked a bit further up Soho Road from around 1966 - 1968 and I used to go in there with a friend on Saturday lunchtime. We were very cheeky and used to buy chips for the fish and chip shop nearby and then go into the cafe for a coffee and take it upstairs and eat our chips there!

There was a small juke box upstairs and we used to put a shilling in and play Vanilla Fudge records.
Happy days :) indeed!
 
The coffee bar in Summer Row was run by a Dutch man by the name of Van Hagen, It was engulfed by fire on one occasion but was later reopened. For the life of me I cannot remember it's name, but I do not think it was the Fiesta. The fire was during the night after closing time, which would have been about 3am. Regards everyone, George.
 
The 'Elasona' was owned by a friend of mine, Emilio Angelides, I bought my first car (Volkswagen Beetle)from the garage next door(Corner of Marrowfat Lane).
I was working at the Fire Station in Stafford Rd at the time...
 
Yes!!!! I can see his face now,we knew him as Emile a real whizz on the coffee machine,can`t for the life of me remember what else they sold?
 
The class coffee bar in the 5o s was the Kalamazoo at the end of the western arcade opposite snow hill station and kunzle cakes were the tops


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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l think your talking about the Kardoma , thats the only coffee bar l knew of opposite snow hill station in the 50s......Brenda
 
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hi brenda
thanks for speaking about the kardoma if i am correct it had been there for years as you say posibly in the fiftys yes you are correct it was the only one oppersite
the station during and up till afew years later i think it was in the early seventys that another coffee bar openend up just yards from the kardoma
very close to the st phillips church yard close to the walk through i cannot recall the name thou
but i would like to asked the question as to what was there before the 1950s opening of the kardoma coffe bar if any body could tell me please
and i would just like to add a little note of mine that close to the station on the same side my grand parents ran a coffee shop cafe facing there
which was i think at least up until the fiftys before the redezign of colmore rd and my great grand parents ran a resturant in the grt westen arcade in the twentys and thirty they bought it off pattersons whom was the orinional owners of the resturaunt along with grt joe lyons and there staff also wore the same uniform as joe lyons my mother told me but i am very intrested in what was it before the kardomo was it apar of the greys empire before alterations was it not there ware house side
of there bussiness as i think there was always dozens of huge vans unloading constantly and evently greys cut thee building down
many thanks for reading this snippet but if any body can enlarge on this i would be very grateful best wishes astonian;;
 
Alan

Prior to the 1950's and the Kardomah Café there was only the bombed entrance to the Great Western Arcade. Before the war that area at the entrance to the arcade was taken by Bressford & Co Music Sellers. Here we have before and after photo's.
 

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hi phil;
many thanks for replyng to me on this one and a big thank for posting the photographs i will take a copy
was it only the main entrance or fully bombed of the arcade great infomation phil best wishes astonian alan;;
 
Hi Alan,


As far as I am aware it was only the buildings fronting the arcade that were hit. The arcade was soon back in business with a temporary entrance.
 

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My favourite (great grea) auntie was the head waitress at the Khardoma, probably up tp the 1920's, she said loads of actors came in. They had a huge slab of fruitcake and she saved the end bits and made a pudding with them. I know she served black coffee from a silvery pot in the one hand and hot milk in the other at the same time. That was café au lait, she said. Nan thought she had ideas above her station, she would say, "'ers off!" But I think it was an 'in' place to be.
It was still there but must have been rebuilt in the late 80's I went in with my dad.
 
I didn't see Astonian's and others' posts when I put mine on about the Khardoma but my aunt lived in St Johh's Rd Sparkhill in 1911. She would have been head waitresss by then I would imagine aged 29 then she got married in her 30's to keep the Wig and Pen or en and Wig with my uncle. Her sister was also a waiitress there.
 
As an art student in Margaret St in 1960 I'd sometimes visit the coffee bar in Summer Row (left side, going down) but I don't think it was called La Fiesta. The small white façade to the right of centre looks familiar and if you enlarge the photo you can see the words "Coffee bar" on the projecting sign; but the name on the façade itself, though hard to make out, seems to say something like EL MA*** (can't be more precise) which would tie in with my memory of its having a Spanish theme. It was a pretty grotty place where the jukebox seemd to play "Green Door" non-stop.
 
am i imagining it or can some one tell me if there was a cafe up the soho road where you went down the stairs to it
i seem to remember going to it early sixties but dont know what it was called
josie
 
thanks oisin
can't remember the name but remember going down some stairs to the cafe
glad i didn't imagine it sign of getting old
josie
 
Oh, I've always understood it happened at the Elasona. Just shows how history can get confused.
 
Hi Josie and viridauis
Firstly there was the cafe on the Soho road just short of getting to the traffic lights possibly Stafford rd
It was in a row of shops sort of precint of a type we as the gang used to frequent there every Friday and Sundays
I used to deliver milk all around that part of hands worth for midland counties dairys
The coffee bar virdi,as mentionioned was the LA made or words to that efect but later changed hands and the name by owners
And purchased the adjoining building where u
On it became a midland bands auditions and playing venues for lots of islands new bands like the red caps the apple jacks from Solihull
But the coffee bar combined both building as it was called brum beat coffee bar in the later years of its life
Before demo of the area and the dutch man purchased the building oppersite on the corner facing hoods furniture
And a lot of my old school chums whom I went to school with daily and all from Ladywood. Anditon. St,
All worked there after leaving school and just area doors or so closer to the domestic food of college was another coffee bar
Which was owned by the Greek family from broad street mick the Greek as he was known by
He had the all nighter rezevuis on broad street next to the registrar offices and across from the tow rope all nighter
All so a couple of chippies around brum brum one down by the Birmingham airport and one on Soho. Reload by st Michaels hill
Traffic lights the one Verdi as mention I end was a complete dirty place before being taken over for brum beat head towards spring hill you had the Adam and
Eve just passing the roller rink incidently on the subject of the kardoma
My an esters had a resturaunt inside the zrcade which was owned by Patterson and Hughes in those days and they use to supply
All foods around the coffee shops of jelfs all around brum my great grand fathers bought it off Patterson's for what reason
They moved out whether it was because of bombing during the war years I know he died in 1946
But the oldest son was farther and he bought and kept a coffee shop just out side snow hill station and it was facing the kardoma coffee shop
Inside the arcade of the jelfs and if you like pattersons restjraunt they kept there staff in the same style as Joe Lyons
With the inning aprons and head gear
And reading my friends thread about his aunt she would have possibly worked for either of them as she was head waitress
Mr Hughes asked my mother to marry her but declined to marry him and chose my father instead which was her biggest mistake of her life
There was hardly a street or area where the jelfs shops was around birmingham they was a secretive family and very cannie
Best wishes to all Astonian,,,,,,
 
Hi guys
It was on the opersite side of the Soho road to the Soho library when you you walk along heading towards wet brom
In other words walk along on the left hand side of the Soho road passing the Monti Carlo down sthe steps club
And passing passing the revenue club of our long life member,s club incidently our Alf if you are reading this as I know you
Still keep your eye on us on here How are you keeping you old son of a gun, hope thou are well Alf,
Can you recall the cafe we are on about just before the traffic lights where the coco cola warehousuning was I think there was a bank on the opersite corner
They rebuilt some shops that laid back from the others that's where the cafe was with the down stairs ,
Whilst on the subjects of cafes does anybody and may be Dennis may recall it the route 66 cafe oppersite the smiths arms
On Winson green rd. They had abasement open end up as well in the sixtys I think the guy was called gaberial and his wife
Best wishes Astonian,,,,,,
 
The café just before the lights on Soho Road was the Riviera. There was an upstairs but you could also go to a downstairs room.
The Elasona was a little further up opposite the Freighted Horse pub. This also had an upstairs and a downstairs.
 
Yes aiche
I used to go there down the stairs with my old pal billy Wyman many years ago also we would spend the all night down in the basement of the continental club
That was in the days of the old five pound note as big as an evening mail paper page never went much up the horse much
On our pub crawl either one or two time on our pub brawl and end up in the star and garter on the old high street of west brom and back to the conti,

Best wishes Astonian,,,,,
 
Re my previous reply No 37. My brain has at last switched into gear. The place as stated was run by Van Hagen and was called the La Fiesta. After reopening it had another name. I cannot help any more. Regards George.
 
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