But when the closed signs rise forever, it is the end of the era, and those little cuffs become relics of the museum, with a fading memory and a relic of the museum – in the case of the Fountain Café, literally quite a bit.
Running by the same family for 55 years on Oastler Market, the cafe closed in 2023 and is now “recreated” at the Bradford Industrial Museum. The cafe has barely changed since it opened in 1968 – when I interviewed the film producers and filmed the scene there, he said it was the perfect setting for '60s dramas – and that “retro” furniture, tableware and signs have been acquired by Bradford Museum Services and are on display in the cafe gallery.
It was a sad day when the fountain coffee house and grill closed. The popular cafe was opened by Paul and Mary George Wu. His son Michael later took it on with his wife Stella. It was one of many independent cafes in Bradford. Most are run by immigrant families from all over Europe. El Greco in the Acropolis of Jackson – I've visited these cafes frequently as a teenager. Usually, we served some foamy coffee with our after-school friends until the bus arrived. Happy times.
My first taste of “cafe culture” was like the little girl I saw when my grandma took me to a cafe at Halifaxborough Market.
One of the great cafes in Bradford was Italy in Great Horton. Reminisced fondly by his Bradford University poet John Hegley, it had a mix of diners, from students to Raleigh Driver, shoved into hearty servings of spicy stew and lasagna chips. The guys from New Model Army and Terrorvision were regulars, and Game of Thrones actor Enzo Cilenti, who worked there as a teenager, despite her grandparents running a cafe. When I asked readers for memories of Italy, there was a lively response:
* “I met my husband there. I spoke to him on a large pile of tea mugs and spaghetti. So romantic!”
* “Our student's house was a few yards from Italy. I lived in that house with a woman who became a wife. I visited (Italy) a few years later. When the waiter brought my wife's meal, he stopped before putting the plate down. She asked if everything was okay, and he replied: “It's just you had eggs, chips, beans, not eggs, chips, peas.” ”
* “Beautiful home cooking – from a clean kitchen and a sense of community. When it closed, I broke because I will never see great people again.”
* “The Italian Penne Arabiata was our Friday treat. The Cilenti family knew all my children from babies.”
* “Lasagna and chips, that amazing thick bread and butter, and a big mug of tea. They treated the regulars like family.”
Last year, Baxandre, run by Cypriot couples Eric and Pat Iazonides, closed more than 30 years later. The homemade Moussaka with gravy was legendary. When Kirkate Market Cafe was closed, customers recalled happy days as children and as workers on lunch breaks and butty running. “Where are you going now?” sighed the 80-year-old regular.
What remains of those loyal cafe people, especially the old cafes? High street chain coffee shops don't have the cozy charm of a family-run cafe. And with all the moccinos and chai lattes, it's hard to find a table that's not occupied by someone leaning over a laptop.
We went there with our parents, grandparents, friends and dates so we have an old cafe near our hearts. Working people were “heartbeat” at Fountains Cafe, author Mick Martin said. “For many, it can feel like the part they played in their own life and the history of the town. “It was a melting pot for market life. Where working class men and women and immigrants from all over the world worked, where they ate, met and talked about. The cafe feeds far more than our belly – they are the fulcrums of everyday life.”
