The earliest coffee shop in Chongqing

Coffee is one of the three largest drinks in the world, which is drunk by people in almost every country and region. People in Chongqing know a little about coffee from foreigners at first, or occasionally in the upper hall of dignitaries. It is so well-known that even ordinary citizens can taste the color, aroma and taste of coffee in order to appreciate the true color, aroma and taste of coffee. It began to rise when the western restaurant opened in Yucheng.

Mr. Niu Weng, an old poet and president of the Chongqing Old journalists Association, recalled: at the beginning of the last century, around the end of the 1920s, two famous western restaurants appeared in Chongqing, one is "rising Autumn Western Restaurant" and the other is "Qichun Western Restaurant". Both Qichun Western Restaurant and Shengqiu Western Restaurant are located in Zhongshan Park (today's people's Park). They operate roughly the same contents: Western-style food, Western-style cakes, coffee, cold drinks and so on. The difference is that "Qichun" focuses on western food and coffee, and also operates a bathhouse and bath, which is called "Qichun bathroom".

Chongqing is not only a mountain city, but also a famous "stove". It is hot in summer and extremely hot in dog days. In order to avoid the heat wave, people often like to come to "Qichun" or "rising Autumn" to take a nap and have a cup of coffee with good color, smell and taste, refreshing and refreshing. Finished, and then to the bathroom pool to soak, trouble to disappear, all the dust to go, very refreshing and clean, very uncomfortable and happy. Although most of the people who come and go to and from "Qichun" and "Shengqiu" Western restaurants are regular customers with a little money in their pockets, ordinary people can only be deterred. However, eating western food and drinking coffee has become synonymous with "manipulating the ocean plate". There are not too few people sitting here, on the contrary, business is booming and customers are full.

In the early 1930s, Taianmen Square, Taiping Gate, White Elephant Street and Commercial Center were the busiest areas in Chongqing. The "Huasheng Department Store" on West Street and West third Street, and "Hengfu Department Store" were very popular. As a result, the "Sullivan Western Restaurant" jointly organized by Shanghainese and Chongqing people opened next to the gate of Zhongshan Park, taking a fancy to this golden commercial port. On the eve of the Anti-Japanese War, the "Daiji Cafe", run by a white Russian woman, took a different approach, chose the site of Xianqiao, the capital of the first half of Chongqing, and opened the city ceremoniously.

Western food is a western-style meal, eating with a knife and fork. Coffee, a small evergreen tree or shrub, has long ovate leaves, white flowers, fragrant, berry and crimson, with two seeds in it, which are made into powder and boiled in a pot, which is a refreshing drink with strong fragrance. Western food and coffee are purely popular in the West, and most of the people in Chongqing who are used to drinking strong-colored Chongtuo tea still prefer the covered bowl tea handed down from generation to generation. Manipulating the ocean plate and following the old habits, fashion and tradition show their own strengths and complement each other.

During the Anti-Japanese War, with the national government moving westward to Chongqing, Chongqing, a former inland city, became an international metropolis. At that time, Chongqing, with a large population and many teahouses, was a great scenic spot. The streets and docks were crowded and bustling, and teahouses, a place for leisure parties and visitors, could be seen everywhere. At that time, the mountain city was at the height of the teahouse, and the foreign drinks drinking coffee naturally had a unique and interesting flavor.

In 1939, the "May 3rd" and "May 4th" bombings, Japanese planes wantonly rampant, du mail markets, streets messy, wreckage, many buildings, destroyed at once. In the event of an air raid and the dismal operation of the "Daiji Cafe", the former scenery was not there, and the female boss of Belarus was discouraged, so she thought of going back to her home. Tian Changsong and Tian Changbai Kun Zhong wanted to run a coffee shop, so they transferred the shop from the white Russian female boss, renovated it, reopened its business, and gave the shop a pleasant name-"Heart Cafe."

Why did the Tian brothers rise up to set up a "coffee shop"? Why can "Heart Cafe" catch up from behind and become famous in the rear? The reason is that it's a long story. If you want to know what happens in the future, let's listen to the next decomposition.