Cadena Cafes Limited

Cadena locations in 1934 prospectus

Cadena Cafes Limited was a chain of coffee shops in South West England. It was established in 1895 under the name Lloyd's Oriental Cafe, subsequently Lloyd's Cadena Cafes Ltd.[1] It became Cadena Cafes Ltd in 1907[1][2] and went on to operate over twenty branches. It was eventually taken over by Tesco in January 1965[3][4] and the cafes closed during the 1970s. It was listed on the Bristol Stock Exchange; from 1927 to at least 1950, its AGMs were fully reported by the Western Daily Press.[5]

Expansion

In 1902, Lloyds Oriental Cafe had branches in Bristol, Oxford, Hastings, Southsea, Tunbridge Wells and Richmond[6][7] which served a coffee blend they called "Cadena". In 1919, the company – by then itself known as Cadena – purchased the Cheltenham cafes Cosy Corner and the Oriental Cafe from Ernest Edward Marfell who became a director of the Cadena company.[8] They considerably expanded Cosy Corner.[9] In 1924, Cadena expanded their Wine Street, Bristol branch to include a "grill room" for gentlemen only.[10]

The growth of the company from 1927 can be tracked through the Western Daily Press AGM reports[5] though sometimes similar announcements are made two years running. At their 34th AGM in 1927 they began a long tradition of holding their AGM at the then-new Berkeley Cafe in Bristol (which is now a Wetherspoons).[11] They replaced their Bournemouth branch with a new one in Christchurch Road and bought a new site in Broad Street, Reading. In 1928 they opened in Oxford, started building in Salisbury and opened a new bakery in Bristol. Reading and Salisbury opened in 1929. Apart from the major acquisition of the Dellers company in 1933,[12] the 1930s saw less expansion with the purchase a Winchester site in 1930 which eventually opened in 1934.

In 1932 and 1934 the company sold more shares.[1][13] The prospectuses give details of company activities and contractual commitments at the time. They therefore provide details of the cafes as they were in the early 1930s.

Premises listed in 1932 and 1934 prospectuses
NameStreetTownComments
Cadena15-17 Wine StreetBristolProspectus says purchased 1931. There was a significant investment in the branch in 1933.[14] Cadena bought no.18 from Montague Burton by 1934. (There was a Lloyds Oriental Cafe in Wine Street in 1895.[15])
The Cabot38 College GreenBristolOpened November 1904 by Lloyds Oriental Cafe Ltd[16][17] as part of a redevelopment in the area.[18] Contained The Rowley Inlaid Wood Panels by William Arthur Chase which formed a mural illustrating the life of John Cabot, and upstairs The Camelot Room contained six panels illustrating the life of King Arthur.[19]
The Berkeley15-19 Queens RoadCliftonVenue for AGMs
Cafe at the Art GalleryQueen's RoadClifton
Cadena71-73 Old Christchurch RdBournemouth
Botherways Cafe4-6 Eastgate StGloucesterAcquired by January 1928[20]
Cafe at the Red and White Bus StationIndia RoadGloucesterAdded by 1934
Cadena43-47 Cornmarket StreetOxfordBought and demolished in 1970 by Gordon Thoday Ltd. who had bought it from Tesco[21]
Cadena58-59 George StreetRichmond, Surrey
The Tudor34-36 Mount PleasantTunbridge WellsOpened July 1905 by Lloyds Oriental Cafe.[22] Re-opened under Cadena ownership 1924[23]
Cadena26-28 The PantilesTunbridge WellsOpened March 1902 with oriental theme[24] Now known as Cadena House with flats upstairs, the ground floor is occupied by Shragers Patisserie[25]
CadenaThe Arcade, High StreetBedford
The Corner House108-110 PromenadeCheltenhamLLoyd George Survey of Land Values seems to give 26 Promenade Villas for the Cosy Corner and dates the Marfell sale to 1921.[26]
Cadena395 High StreetCheltenhamGloucestershire Echo says this was formerly the Cosy Corner[27]
Cadena134-136 The ParadeLeamington Spa
Cadena33 Above BarSouthampton
Cadena13 Duke StreetCardiff
CadenaMarket SquareSalisbury
Cadena100-101 Broad StreetReadingFormerly the Grand Cinema.[28][29]
Karina31 High StreetWinchester
Maynard's CafeThe SquareYeovilAlso known as "The Borough Restaurant"; purchased from Maynard in 1931.[30]
The Central RestaurantThe CrossWorcesterPurchased from Patten and Wells. Now Grade II Listed[31]
No. 12St Swithun's StreetWorcesterPurchased from Patten and Wells
Dellers CafeBedford StreetExeterDellers purchased in February 1933[32]
Dellers Cafe45-49 High StreetExeter
Dellers CafeTorbay RoadPaigntonThere is a photo in the Francis Frith Collection.[33]
Dellers Cafe, "Summer Cafe"Esplanade RoadPaignton
Dellers CafeThe BridgeTauntonThere is a photo online.[34]

After this, development of a Worcester cafe was started in 1936 and opened in 1937 but 1939 saw the closure of the Leamington bakery and the Pantiles cafe in Tunbridge Wells. The 1940s saw a return to financial health despite wartime taxation. In 1942 they bought land at Brislington for a new bakery planned to be built after the war, and when that eventually opened in 1949 (albeit across the road in an existing building, not new build), they opened a new cafe at the former bakery site it replaced and launched a new "Cadenita" brand upstairs in the Ritz Cinema, Bristol. (The cinema opened in 1938 but closed thirty years later.[35])

Facilities

The cafes contained a range of different dining rooms for different purposes. For example, the Cadena at the Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells, opened in 1902 with a gentlemen's smoking room and a ladies' tea room.[24] There were plans in Cheltenham in 1919 to add an upstairs "dining salon" and a roof garden[8] and by 1924 Wine Street had a "Grill Room" with a "quick lunch counter".[10] The Berkeley Cafe was already large enough to hold the AGM in 1927 but was having an additional 250-seat room constructed. In 1931, Botherway's was advertising a ground floor cafe and "the Connaught suite of rooms" on the first floor.[36] There are frequent mentions in the AGM reports of premises being extended.

The cafes were also music and dance venues. The Cadena at 40 White Rock, Hastings, began "musical afternoon teas" in 1903.[37] The Cosy Corner had a music license in 1919.[8] In 1944, Eastgate (Gloucester) was being used as a venue for ballet lessons and public dances.[38]

Wartime

The outbreak of World War I led to mass enlistment and consequently labour shortages. Cadena was taken to court in 1914 for employing a fourteen-year-old in the Bristol bakery for longer than the permitted hours for an underage child. The company apologised but said it had been forced into that position because six of their staff had enlisted.[39]

World War II features far more significantly in the press stories and annual general meeting reports. There was much discussion of wartime taxation.[40] Cafes were destroyed in the Southampton Blitz, the Exeter Blitz and the Bristol Blitz and Cadena struggled to get permission to open temporary branches on the bomb sites. Later, in the Southampton and Exeter redevelopments, the local councils compulsory purchased the land occupied by the shops and leased it back to Cadena, which meant they were now having to pay a lease on land they formerly owned. In Bristol, they fought the postwar creation of the Broadmead Shopping Centre because it would take business away from the existing shopping centre where the cafe was located.

Labour relations

The 1914 court case was for requiring a 14-year-old to work excessive hours in the bakery.[39] In 1939, part of the reason for extending the Southampton branch was to comply with the Factory Act, implying that their staff facilities were not state-of-the-art at the time. However in the 1930s they set up a fund to reward loyal staff but also to provide financial support to staff who were struggling financially. At one AGM it was remarked that the directors were all actively employed at Cadena branches or bakeries, and it is noticeable that between 1916 and at least 1950 they only had four different Chairmen:

There was an annual tradition of the directors hosting staff social events at different branches in the new year. Amongst numerous examples, in January 1925 staff in Bristol enjoyed a whist drive and musical performances. A subsidised savings scheme was announced in 1929.[41] A "Staff Assistance Reserve" fund was established in the 1930s depression and, announced at the 1947 AGM, it was extended to provide pensions.

Tesco takeover

Tesco's bid for Cadena Cafes Limited was announced in The Times on 14 January 1965.[42] and by 9 February 1965 it was well underway.[3] In March, The Times reported that "offers to acquire the preference and ordinary shares of Cadena Cafes not already owned by Tesco have been received in respect of over 90 per cent of each class".[43] It was intended to introduce Cadena cafes into Tesco supermarkets and to start selling Cadena pastries and cakes.[44] Sarah Ryle estimates that there were forty-nine Cadena cafes and bakeries at the time of the takeover.[45] By 1967, Tesco had plans to expand Cadena's bakery operation[46] but this did not materialise and the former Cadena Cafes Limited subsidiary company was eventually renamed as Tesco International Internet Retailing Limited in 2011.[47]

In 2007, the BBC reported the death of former Cadena director and shareholder John George White who had retired from Cadena in 1961[48] and made his fortune from the Tesco shares he received when the company was later sold.[49][50]

Legacy

The Tunbridge Wells premises are now called Cadena House.[25] Cadena Cafes are frequently mentioned in passing on nostalgia websites. Slightly longer articles recall the cafes in more detail, for example Southampton,[51] Tunbridge Wells,[52] Oxford,[53] and Reading.[28] The Southampton article recalls the menu, their wartime experience, and murals of local shipping scenes including the RMS Queen Elizabeth sailing from the Ocean Terminal. It is interesting that the murals are mentioned, given the prestigious murals at the Cabot in Bristol.[19] The Tunbridge Wells article recalls the protocol, the menu and the skills of the waitresses, and points out that the last manager's grandchildren are still in the trade. As with Southampton, the artwork is mentioned, this time having the decor designed by Roger Fry. The Oxford article describes the business and calls for readers to contribute their own stories about the Cadena. The Reading article is actually a letter from a reader about the cinema building the Cadena occupied but it digresses to mention that the "freshly roasted coffee beans’ aroma wafted across Broad Street" and explain the sloping floor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "1934 Prospectus". Western Daily Press. 15 January 1934 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  2. ↑ It was prominently reported in the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette (7th November 1907) that Philip James Lloyd, tea merchant and dealer, former managing director of Lloyds Cadena Cafes Ltd for about 12 years, had gone bankrupt.
  3. 1 2 "£1M. Tesco Stores Purchase [of Adsega Ltd". The Times. 9 February 1965. p. 17 – via Times Digital Archive. (subscription required (help)). This take over comes less than a month after the £3m acquisition of Cadena Cafes.
  4. ↑ Hensmans, Manuel; Johnson, Gerry; Yip, George (2013). Strategic Transformation: Changing While Winning. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 68.
  5. 1 2 "Various articles". Western Daily Press – via British Newspaper Archive. 1927-1950
  6. ↑ "An acquisition to the Pantiles". Kent & Sussex Courier. 21 March 1902 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "advert for Lloyds Oriental Cafe, 40 White Rock, Hastings". Hastings and St Leonards Observer. 25 October 1902.
  8. 1 2 3 "Cadena Cafes, Ltd". Cheltenham Looker-On. 18 January 1919. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  9. ↑ "Sayings and Doings of Cheltenham". Cheltenham Looker-On. 25 January 1919. p. 11 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  10. 1 2 "Cadena Cafes Limited". Western Daily Press. 2 May 1924. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  11. ↑ "The Berkeley, Bristol". This Wetherspoon pub is a former shopping arcade, which included Berkeley Tea Rooms. The name 'Berkeley' has long been associated with Bristol, particularly nearby Berkeley Square built in the late 18th century.
  12. ↑ "Cadena company buys famous Dellers". Western Daily Press. 11 February 1933. One of the biggest business deals that have occurred in Bristol for many years ... News of the 'big deal' reached the Bristol Stock Exchange yesterday, with the result that the prices of £1 ordinary shares moved up by 6d, being quoted at 52s 6d to 53s 6d, and they will probably go much higher.
  13. ↑ "1932 Prospectus". Western Daily Press. 4 May 1932. p. 11.
  14. ↑ "THE NEW CADENA CAFE, WINE STREET. Dignified Rooms and Efficient Service". Western Daily Press. 2 January 1934 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ↑ "Lloyds Oriental Cafe advert, centre of Wine Street". Western Daily Press. 14 December 1895 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ↑ "Advert: New west end branch of Lloyds Oriental Cafe". Western Daily Press. 4 November 1904 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ↑ "Now Open The Cabot Cafe". Western Daily Press. 16 January 1905. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)). It is not too much to say that the general fitting up of the rooms will come as a revelation and delight
  18. ↑ "Improvements in College Green". Western Daily Press. 17 October 1903 – via British Newspaper Archive. An important block of business premises is about to be erected in College Green ... The upper floors will be occupied by Lloyds Oriental Cafe Ltd and known as the "Cadena Tea Rooms"
  19. 1 2 "South Bristol Methodist Church: the mural". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  20. ↑ "STAFF ENTERTAINMENT. To mark, the acquisition of Botherway's Cafe, Gloucester". Gloucester Journal. 28 January 1928 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. ↑ Hassall, T.G. (1971). "Excavations at 44-46 Cornmarket Street, Oxford, 1970" (PDF). Oxoniensia: 15–36.
  22. ↑ "Tudor Cafe advert". Kent & Sussex Courier. 14 July 1905.
  23. ↑ "Business enterprise in Tunbridge Wells: Reconstruction of a well-known cafe". Kent & Sussex Courier. 18 July 1924 – via British Newspaper Archive. Lengthy effusive description
  24. 1 2 "A new cafe". Hastings and St Leonards Observer. 29 March 1902 – via British Newspaper Archive. It is replete with every comfort, and most luxuriously furnished, the design being oriental in character. The proprietors are Lloyds Oriental Cafe Ltd whose establishment at Hastings is well known.
  25. 1 2 "Scores on the Doors: Shragers Patisserie". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "LLoyd George Survey of Land Values". Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  27. ↑ "Library exhibition remembers Cheltenham's past in pictures". Gloucestershire Echo. 3 September 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  28. 1 2 Embery, D L (27 November 2008). "Coffee beans replace cinema". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  29. ↑ Noyes, Doug (November 1998). "The Changing Face of Reading". Wargrave Local History Society. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  30. ↑ Osborn, Bob. "The A-to-Z of Yeovil's History: Maynard & Son, Pastrycooks & Confectioners of the Borough".
  31. ↑ "1389897 - The National Heritage List for England". English Heritage. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  32. ↑ "Dellers Supply Stores Limited" (PDF). The London Gazette. 7 March 1933. p. 1559.
  33. ↑ "Paignton Dellers Cafe". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  34. ↑ "Taunton Dellers". Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  35. ↑ "Ritz Cinema Bristol Hill, Brislington, Bristol, BS4". Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  36. ↑ "The New Cadena". Gloucester Citizen. 1 December 1931 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  37. ↑ "A new departure: Musical afternoon teas". Hastings and St Leonards Observer. 5 September 1903 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  38. ↑ "Helen Tait". Gloucester Citizen. 29 December 1944. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  39. 1 2 "Second Court". Western Daily Press. 24 December 1914. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  40. ↑ HM Revenue and Customs. "World War II and PAYE".
  41. ↑ "Cadena Cafes: another profitable year". Gloucester Citizen. 7 December 1929 – via British Newspaper Archive. With a view to encouraging thrift among the younger members of the staff, it is intended form a branch of the National Savings Association. The Company under such a scheme would undertake to increase the individual savings by adding a certain proportion of National Savings Certificates to those purchased by members of the staff
  42. ↑ "£3m. Tesco Bid for Restaurants". The Times. 14 January 1965. p. 15.
  43. ↑ "Cadena Cafes". The Times. 17 March 1965. p. 19.
  44. ↑ "Coffee for Tesco Customers". The Times. 15 January 1965. p. 20.
  45. ↑ Ryle, Sarah (2013). The Making of Tesco: A Story of British Shopping. Random House. p. 328. (Gives takeover as 1964)
  46. ↑ "Bakery Challenge". The Times. 15 June 1967. p. 22. Tesco intends to mount a challenge to the big bakery operations by developing its own production. A spokesman said yesterday that the bakery division of Cadena Cafes, a Tesco subsidiary, had been reorganized and a large five-year expansion programme begun.
  47. ↑ "Tesco International Internet Retailing Limited". Companies House.
  48. ↑ The BBC incorrectly assumed that the takeover took place in 1961 but that was the year White retired, not the year the company was sold. The correct year, given the announcements in The Times, is 1965.
  49. ↑ "Man leaves millions to charities". BBC News. 21 December 2007.
  50. ↑ "Millionaire's 'surprise' legacy". BBC News. 21 December 2007.
  51. ↑ Hamilton, Keith (12 November 2014). "Cafe was the toast of the town".
  52. ↑ "Strict rules and delicious treats at British cafe". 5 August 2011.
  53. ↑ "'Oxford will never be the same' the last days of the glorious cadena cafe". 22 July 2013.
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