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Pickwick Cafe Needless Alley

Vivienne14

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
I posted this on another thread, but as Christmas is on the horizon, I think it deserves a thread of its own. I loved the place for its coziness low lighting and food.

I remember the Pickwick Cafe very well, especially their fresh cream and ice cream coffees (cholesterol alert !). The place was decked out in Victorian style with lots of oak (apparently from Chamberlain's Edgbaston House), plush red upholstery and fringed lighting. Just one of those coffees was enough, but we still managed to spin the time out in there on cold winter days. A very cosy setting.

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By 1972 it seems to have become a club for “interesting people”. Mmm - a tad pretentious ! Viv.

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A bit more about the place. Tiles and brass fittings from Holloway Circus and Galloway Corner demolitions were re-used in the interior decor. There’s also a (poor) photo. There’s unlikely to be a good photo of the interior as it was pretty dark inside, Article source: British Newspaper Archive. Viv.

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Quite possibly Chris. I don’t think The Pickwick was there for very long. Viv.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Chris, did it become the Great American Disaster ? See post#22 here https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/needless-alley.31515/page-2

If that was the successor to The Pickwick, the Pickwick can only have been there a few years. Viv.
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Yes that name I remember, I'm not sure exactly where it was, only remember going to both in the same vicinity, obviously not at the same time !
I also remember a great Wholefoods place opening by Lewis's, Prana I think, doing wholemeal toast and a great selection of salads.
 
I use to go to the Pickwick in Needless Alley with my mom when I was a little girl. It was our special place, we would go when we went shopping in Birmingham. It was magical to me, a step back in time to the Victorian era, absolutely loved that place.
 
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