Cherished café items restored and put on display

Items from a beloved café that recently shut have gone on display in one of Bradford's museums.

Fountains Café in the Oastler Centre closed its doors in March 2023 after 55 years.

Owners Michael and Stella Georgiou said the rise in energy prices and the imminent closure of the Oastler Centre were among the reasons they decided to close.

The council's museums and galleries service acquired some of the café's objects after it shut and they have been put on show at Bradford Industrial Museum.

The items have been painstakingly cleaned and restored and are on display in the museum's Café Gallery.

Paul and Mary Georgiou opened Fountains Coffee House and Grill in 1968 at Bradford's then newly developed John Street Market (later called the Oastler Shopping Centre).

The fabric of the café remained largely unchanged since it opened, and the items on display including unique artwork, the original signage and café furniture all of which reflect the interior design trends of the day.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Chris Georgiou who is the second generation of the family who worked in the cafe alongside his brother Michael, said: "We are delighted to see our family's legacy in Bradford being preserved for all at Bradford Industrial Museum.

"We started Fountains Café when the open-air John Street Market was first redeveloped in the 1960s, so it's going to be exciting to see the next chapter of markets in the city centre with the new Darley Street Market and also the changes coming with the new City Village project starting."

The original interior of the café was the ideal backdrop for filming, and the cafe was used to film scenes from Funny Cow with Maxine Peake and Alun Armstrong, as well as for the 2013 BBC mini-series The Great Train Robbery staring Jim Broadbent.

Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council's executive member for healthy people and places said: "Many Bradfordians will remember being taken to the Fountains Cafe as children, with many returning with their own families later in life.

"I'm pleased that this little slice of nostalgia has been preserved for future generation to enjoy."

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