The Coffee Bar
Frothy coffee, a jukebox, and somewhere to be that was not home.
Gaggia machines arrived from Italy and gave British teenagers the first indoor space that was theirs.
The 2i's in Soho is the famous one, but every town got a version: a hissing espresso machine, formica tables, and a jukebox that ate your money.
No alcohol, which is why parents tolerated it, and which is exactly why it worked. An entire music scene came out of rooms that mostly sold coffee.
Cost back then
9d for a frothy coffee
Goes for now
The buildings are banks now
