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Digbeth Cafe

brumgum

brumgum

Proud to be a Brummie!
My Uncle used to own a Cafe facing Digbeth Coach Station in the Sixties, it was on the corner of Oxford Street and Digbeth. I remember it being a rather large establishment as it had an upstairs dining area which was serviced via a dumb waiter, i also recall large globe type lights in the upstairs part. That's all i remember really apart from my uncle dressed in his white apron etc.
If anyone has any memories of this Cafe i would be grateful as my Uncle has passed away now,

Brumgum.
 
hi brum gun ;
yes i can remember it it always had steamed up windows
and my grand parents had one down and around the corner from them on new cannal street next to the hide and skin slaughter and typhhoo tea factory
i used to go in there some times but that was when all the shops along next to them was a busy shopping there was a shop that specialised in tools as well
best wishes astonian [ sorry for the delayin responding but i have just come out of hospital for two weeks today]
 
Astonian said:
hi brum gun ;
yes i can remember it it always had steamed up windows
and my grand parents had one down and around the corner from them on new cannal street next to the hide and skin slaughter and typhhoo tea factory
i used to go in there some times but that was when all the shops along next to them was a busy shopping there was a shop that specialised in tools as well
best wishes astonian [ sorry for the delayin responding but i have just come out of hospital for two weeks today]
Click to expand...

Thank's, hope you're ok. I think there's still a tool shop there...

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Oxford+St,+Birmingham&hl=en&ll=52.475708,-1.88851&spn=0.00047,0.000603&t=h&hnear=Oxford+St,+Birmingham,+United+Kingdom&z=21&layer=c&cbll=52.475708,-1.88851&panoid=yLUOu16K_qktlE7LHupXSA&cbp=12,54.03,,0,0
Any ideas as to if it was the whole corner plot or just where the Digbeth news is located now?.
 
Can,t say I remember this Cafe It must have been more like a tea room. The cafe I do recall was the Minerva this was the middle shop of 3 between Smithfield Garage and Oxford St run by 2 brothers with their sister doing the cooking in the back seems a bit strange to be so close together.
 
dek carr said:
Can,t say I remember this Cafe It must have been more like a tea room. The cafe I do recall was the Minerva this was the middle shop of 3 between Smithfield Garage and Oxford St run by 2 brothers with their sister doing the cooking in the back seems a bit strange to be so close together.
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It had quite a sizeable dining area upstairs providing full dinners etc, with Digbeth coach station across the road i should imagine it would have been quite busy.
 
Hi

There was a cafe roughly where you describe called the Lorica.
I remember going in there with a mate - must have been in the early 1960's, -
and noticed the owner's Alsatian asleep under one of the bench seats.
Strange how you remember odd details from so long ago!

Kind regards

Dave
 
Dave89 said:
Hi

There was a cafe roughly where you describe called the Lorica.
I remember going in there with a mate - must have been in the early 1960's, -
and noticed the owner's Alsatian asleep under one of the bench seats.
Strange how you remember odd details from so long ago!

Kind regards

Dave
Click to expand...
Thank's Dave, the Lorica rings a bell but wasn't that near Digbeth Nick?, i can't even remember what my Uncles Cafe was called to be honest.
The shop called Digbeth news is at number 90 according google Street view which is roughly where the Cafe was.
 
According to Kelly's 1962 Directory there were 2 cafe's one either side of Oxford St the town side was Joseph Fletchers Dining Rooms. Deritend side was Café Taffurelli. Is this any help? The Lorica was owned by the people who owned the Manzil next door.
 
Phil said:
According to Kelly's 1962 Directory there were 2 cafe's one either side of Oxford St the town side was Joseph Fletchers Dining Rooms. Deritend side was Café Taffurelli. Is this any help? The Lorica was owned by the people who owned the Manzil next door.
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Thank's, not really. It may have been late sixties to be honest. It was the Deritend side though.
 
Right, 1967-68 does the Express Café in place of Café Taffurelli sound familiar?
 
hi phil
i have to diagree but the cafe he is on about was not the manzil cafe
that was next to digbeth police station it was further down along the rd
to oxford street that was close to meriad stret by the traffic lights the cafe our friend is on about was further down the rd best wishes Astonian
 
hI PHIL
I have to agree with dek; what he said was correct and thats the one i recall as you passed smithfield garage car sales on theoppersite of digbeth coach station we are talking about thats where the cafe [ tea rooms ] as it was then
as you passed the smithy sales there was a batch of shops between the meriadith
street and oxford street the first shop you hit was a big hardware nd tool shop
with two shops next to each other and then a series of shops before he tea rooms
the lorica and the manzil are the same shop [ cafe] they changed there name
are right next door to the old digbeth nick as thats where you think it was but dek is correct best wishes Astonian;;
 
Great piece of info Brumgum I am sure the football historians will be interested. My eldest son met Gill a few years ago when he had to drive him to the Alex, he and a couple of other players were guests of honor at a production there.
 
Wendy said:
Great piece of info Brumgum I am sure the football historians will be interested. My eldest son met Gill a few years ago when he had to drive him to the Alex, he and a couple of other players were guests of honor at a production there.
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Thank's Wendy, my Uncle was a great advocate of football in this part of the world, he was a scout for several big clubs and discovered Carlton Palmer, Carlton attended my Uncles funeral.
 
brummie nick said:
In the 1968-9 Kellys Number 90 is Olyumpus fish shop,

Nick
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Thank's for that, sounds about right as i don't think he had it for long. Would be great to have a nose upstairs in that place to see if there's anything left to suggest it's former use.
 
Dave89 said:
Hi

There was a cafe roughly where you describe called the Lorica.
I remember going in there with a mate - must have been in the early 1970's, -
and noticed the owner's Alsatian asleep under one of the bench seats.
Strange how you remember odd details from so long ago!

Kind regards

Dave
[/QUThe Lorica cafe is where the Karibu coffee house is now. Right by the traffic lights. I spent many happy nights in there.
Click to expand...
 
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Astonian said:
hi phil
i have to diagree but the cafe he is on about was not the manzil cafe
that was next to digbeth police station it was further down along the rd
to oxford street that was close to meriad stret by the traffic lights the cafe our friend is on about was further down the rd best wishes Astonian
Click to expand...
manzil was next to the police station, but a couple of doors down by the traffic lights was The Lorica cafe.Spent many happy nights in there.
 
The Manzil Restaurant and the Lorica Cafe were both a part of the old Morgans Sausages building the were sandwiched between the police station and the Castle & Falcon on the corner of Meriden Street it wa obviously nowhere near Oxford Street and and the cafe this thread is about. I know this because In worked on the conversion of the old Morgans into the Manzil and later the Lorica Cafe next door and the owner even tried to talk me into being manager of a club he planned to open above the Lorica, but as I knew he was not the best of of payers I politely refused.
 
Phil said:
The Manzil Restaurant and the Lorica Cafe were both a part of the old Morgans Sausages building the were sandwiched between the police station and the Castle & Falcon on the corner of Meriden Street it wa obviously nowhere near Oxford Street and and the cafe this thread is about. I know this because In worked on the conversion of the old Morgans into the Manzil and later the Lorica Cafe next door and the owner even tried to talk me into being manager of a club he planned to open above the Lorica, but as I knew he was not the best of of payers I politely refused.
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You are right Phil. far too many years have passed me by & my memory is not as good as it used to be. I vaguely remember talk of a club going to be opened up stairs. I never went back after that.Spent a lot of time in a cafe on stratford road instead. Lived above that cafe, but can not remember the name of it.
 
Well Michael Harashi, I called him Quarashi for years until I recently learnt his proper name never got around to opening the club but he certainly intended to because he had a load bearing floor put in to be up to code. I think money problems was the reason as I know times were hard in the early days and the whole place was just a money drain. I was quite surprised recently to find out he was still living as the last time I saw him was in 1975 when I went in there for a meal he must be in his 90's now.
 
Phil said:
Well Michael Harashi, I called him Quarashi for years until I recently learnt his proper name never got around to opening the club but he certainly intended to because he had a load bearing floor put in to be up to code. I think money problems was the reason as I know times were hard in the early days and the whole place was just a money drain. I was quite surprised recently to find out he was still living as the last time I saw him was in 1975 when I went in there for a meal he must be in his 90's now.
Click to expand...
Phil said:
Well Michael Harashi, I called him Quarashi for years until I recently learnt his proper name never got around to opening the club but he certainly intended to because he had a load bearing floor put in to be up to code. I think money problems was the reason as I know times were hard in the early days and the whole place was just a money drain. I was quite surprised recently to find out he was still living as the last time I saw him was in 1975 when I went in there for a meal he must be in his 90's now.
Click to expand...
His name sounds familiar Phil. Never saw much of him.If my memory serves me well, I think I only ever saw him in there a couple of times. I can only remember one member of staff from there. She was a girl named margaret. I know she lived up the hagley road. I know when I used to go in the cafe, not many people was buying food & drinks. They would just hang about in there most of the night, & some taking alcohol in.
 
Sorry Michael

I was talking about the Restaurant not the cafe I think I might have been in the cafe twice after it opened. Harashi owned the whole site, well at least he did last time I spoke to him. If you met hi then you wouldn't forget him except for his skin colour he was the typical English gentleman in speech and action and if he didn't know you then he called you sir, if he did then it was never just your first name it was always Mr Philip or Mr Michael.
 
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