Memory Lane

[Trevor S 2,003]

Scanning through Google, I was searching for the old Empire Cafe which I think used to be in Forman Street (?) just down from the Theatre Royal. I remember it as a typical Tudor style little place with small windows and doors. Seem to remember you went down some steps to enter and there was also an upstairs area with tables. The walls had various pictures with a lot of those animal caricatures of dogs playing cards etc. It probably was closed for safety reasons as the stairs leading upstairs were very narrow and wooden. Great snacks though.

Does anybody remember the Shell Service Station in Castle Boulevard? It was down the road from were the tyre dealers are and who I think they were called Jax Tyres back in the good days. At the back of the garage were sandstone caves with one big one with a large entrance and there were various tunnels leading of this cave but they had all been bricked up. Directly behind the garage, there was another smaller cave which had a partial brick wall halfway across the entrance and this one opened out into a fair sized area with tunnel offshoots. Once again they had been bricked up so you could not see how far they extended. Remember once that a group of people came out to explore the caves and they reckoned that the tunnels could well have linked up to the Castle further up the road. It was well known that they had been used as air raid shelters in WW2.

[poohbear 1,360]

The only time I ever went in the Empire Cafe was one mid morning for a snack,and sat chatting to Bernard Breslaw about Nottingham.He was in Pantomime round the corner.

Those 'Hermitage' caves were a famous part of Nottingham for many years,as were those at Sneinton that were destroyed by Victorian railway builders.They were undoubtably used for religious and commercial purposes for many years.Rumours of long tunnels are associated with many Nottingham caves but in most cases are local legend.Some are extensive but not to that extent.

1810

1750

[Cliff Ton 10,487]

The caves on Castle Boulevard have been mentioned previously, including a few photos and Streetview references showing how everything looks today

http://nottstalgia.c...le&fromsearch=1

[jackson 301]

Fascinating pics poohbear; in the one dated: 1752, the 'Underworld' takes on a different meaning.

[Compo 10,328]

Trevor: I was asking the name of that café in another thread recently. I couldn't for the life of me remember that name! do you recall teh 'Blockbusters' they used to sell? They cost 3d in the mid 1960s but being such large slices of cake, lasted ages.

[Trevor S 2,003]

Trevor: I was asking the name of that café in another thread recently. I couldn't for the life of me remember that name! do you recall teh 'Blockbusters' they used to sell? They cost 3d in the mid 1960s but being such large slices of cake, lasted ages.

Sorry Compo, cant remember the Blockbusters....by the mid 60s I was over here. My memories are visits to the Theatre Royal with my mum, grandma or aunt to see pantomimes when I was a little one in the 50s. We always used to go to the Empire Cafe for tea before the theatre. Baked beans on toast! Late 50s after a night on the town, us Radcliffe boys acted as though we were adults and occasionally used to go there for a coffee before the train (steam) back to Radcliffe.

Got a cousin (last one) up your way in Balchristie, Colinsburgh. When we come over there, we are going to do the famous whisky trail. Looking forward to that and practicing already!

[majoroak 0]

on top of the Empire cafe was the old nottingham evening post premises

seem to recall a snooker club adjacent to the cafe?

[poohbear 1,360]

on top of the Empire cafe was the old nottingham evening post premises

seem to recall a snooker club adjacent to the cafe?

I think you'll find the Post premises were opposite and the snooker hall was round the corner...

[Cliff Ton 10,487]

Where was the Cafe relative to this lot? http://www.pictureth...017198&prevUrl=

(I don't remember ever seeing it, so I don't know)

[poohbear 1,360]

Just down Forman Street opposite the Evening Post building...There is a pic on Picture the Past but it has copyright restriction on it. http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;NTGM017411&pos=24&action=zoom&id=78580

It's now this place...

http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;NTGM004876&pos=100&action=zoom&id=56325

[Cliff Ton 10,487]

That explains everything. I wasn't thinking of it being on Forman Street, I assumed it was opposite the Empire building.

[Paulus 541]

Did Forman Street go down one side of Trinity Square?

Was the Empire Cafe very dark inside with low ceilings, did cheap meals in 60's/70's, & did it have upstairs eating area?

[poohbear 1,360]

Parallel with Parliament street...main thing with the cafe was you went down two steps at the door...it was very 'cosy'

Upstairs?...never noticed.

[Compo 10,328]

I never noticed the upstairs either. The Empire was my favourite city café though,

[Trevor S 2,003]

In the 50s, it had the same steps down at the entrance and immediately to your right on entry were the very narrow wooden stairs leading to another eating area upstairs. It was a dark place as Paulus describes; low ceiling, dark wooden panelling halfway up the walls and yes, very cozy on a winters evening. The walls were yellowish, probably from the fog of ciggie smoke that always seemed to be in there. The place gave the impression of being from the Tudor ages.

The upstairs was probably closed in the 60s as it would have been definitely classified as a fire hazard. Steep narrow wooden stairs (axe handle wide) and difficulty passing another on those stairs. They were the only way up to the first floor!

They always used to serve good honest no-frills food at cheap prices.

[Compo 10,328]

The yellow walls and ceiling were indeed a feature of this wonderful café - fag smoke and grease combined I would think. I recall the narrow staircase but don't think I ever went up it.

My favourite snack was a 3d 'Blockbuster' cake and a (white ceramic) cup of tea.

[.... 23]

After being Punchinello's restaurant for some years - an 'old' restaurant in Nottingham terms, it was converted to a Cafe Nero last year. I go in there occasionally and it's a pleasant place as far as these things go.

http://hollystantona...ham-once-stood/

[Compo 10,328]

It shall always remain the "Empire" café to me.

[.... 23]

I feel much the same about many of my former haunts around the city. It makes me quite sad to think about the passing of some of them. I suppose you could say though that if everything remained exactly the same we'd have nothing to get Nottstalgic about!

[twroberts27 0]

When my Mum and Nan needed to bribe us to go shopping with them in the City Centre, they would promise us a visit to the cafe(teria) on the top floor of Woolworth's - tell me I remember this correctly. Our treat was to have egg, chips and beans followed by rice pudding with liberal use of the sugar sifters positioned on each table.

[mick2me 3,033]

I remember visiting the cafe as a kid, but not the rice pud

[Compo 10,328]

That was also a treat for us. I seem to remember it as a canteen type atmosphere during my visits in the late 1950s.

[jackson 301]

twroberts27, I remember well the cafeteria on the top floor of Woolworths; massive area it covered didn't it? Used to go there dinner times during the 60's when I was attending Trent Poly.

[Limey 242]

I remember it too - if we were VERY lucky, mum would take us there for dinner (lunch) if we were with her shopping in Nottingham. My favorite was meat pie with chips and peas and loads of gravy! Don't remember pudding - I suspect the budget didn't stretch to that!

[Cliff Ton 10,487]

This thread made quite a few mentions of the Empire Cafe, but so far there hadn't been any photos of it. Now I've found this - where it appears to be having a repaint