Christine Fisher-Lathwell – Everyone and their Mums went to the Coffee Bean

Simon: What are your memories of The Coffee Bean?

Christine: It was what are probably still there up the back stirs or up the front stairs which I’m hoping are still there, and through the Dress Department into a lovely sunny area at the back of the Second Floor. There was Elizabeth, an Irish lady who ran it, and almost everybody and their mother would come in there for coffee between 10 and12 o’clock and a lot of people would stay for lunch. They didn’t have a massive menu, but they had home-baked scones and cakes and they would do things, salads and Ploughman’s Lunches, quiche Lorraine, so you could have lunch there. I can’t remember whether they had a lot of cooked things, I don’t think they did, and it was just ‘the place’ that you met your relatives, and of course a lot of people …

Simon: Oh it was literally everyone and their mums.

Christine: Yes, everybody and their mums.

Simon: I thought it was just a sort of phrase meaning everyone but it was …

Christine: No, it was just so lovely, and eventually guys started coming in with their wives and boyfriends would come in, you know with girlfriends and I think eventually Fowlers opened up their Coffee Lounge at the top, so I think we probably lost a little bit of trade to them , but I know for the first few years it was very, very popular.

They employed three models I think to wear the clothes and then walk amongst the tables showing off their clothes. I remember my mum went to drink her tea and her hands were quite shaky, so she went to put her cup down, and it went ‘phht’ like that and we just prayed that the lady walking by in the clothes didn’t get splashed tea on her clothes, and in the end I had to go up and say to the lady that was modelling, “I’ve just got to look at the back of your dress” (laughs).

Thankfully it was alright, but they were taking a risk I think having people walking round, especially you know when they’re eating and drinking