Garry Scott
I WONDER what the counter staff would have said if you had tried to order a Mini White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino in here in 1974. Today, our streets are awash with coffee shops from Starbucks to Costa and they offer a bewildering array of drinks but back then C&A's new coffee alcove in Glasgow's Argyle Street branch was the height of sophistication. The then state of the art cafeteria replaced the more traditional tea room and no doubt more than a few shoppers thought the fashion for coffee would soon die out.
Long before C&A came up with its new-fangled coffee shop, the "first coffee house in Christendom" was established in Oxford in 1650 by a Jewish man called Jacob. Two years later, a Greek began running a coffee shop in the City of London. Coffee houses became such popular forums for discussion they were dubbed "penny universities".
After the Second World War an influx of Italian families settled in Scotland and set up cafes and milk bars such as the Dansk in East Kilbride, The Regal in Clydebank and, of course, the University Cafe on Glasgow's Byres Road which attracted young people. Incredible as it may seem now, in the mid 1960s, 40% of the population was under 25, and they wanted somewhere to meet their friends and listen to the jukebox.
Some cafes began to gain a reputation for fast times, especially the Ton Up motorcycle boys, who would reputedly put on a seven-inch single, race to their bikes, and blast round a pre-arranged route. The first one back was the winner. We'd be interested to know whether that ever actually happened.
Despite the changing fashions and tastes, some things never change: one of the pleasures of a shopping trip will always be the chance to take a break for a seat, a cuppa and perhaps a cake or a sandwich.
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