CatBar History

Pre-history

Becoming Veggie

1982 Back in the old days...
there was a band called CRASS,

their symbol is on our Cat beermats left knee
their records came with leaflets, one of which, possibly from the ALF,
said that cows were being fed with cow meat,and chickens with chicken,
and that if humans eat humans they go mad, (apparenty humans taste of chicken)
it seemed logical, so I gave up eating dead animals
and sure enough by 1988 lots of cows were going mad,
maybe chickens too, but how can you tell? and it killed humans too..
Mad Cow BSE info here >

Modern History

2008 Oct 15th: In Bar Fúcar, on Fúcar street. Madrid
It had just changed name to "El Azul de Fúcar"

but is now called "Be Hoppy" a craft beer bar
Geraline asked me, Roy, her flatmate for a month, what my plans were after Madrid?
I told her a daft, drunk, idea..."to open a vegan food bar, with a choice of beers"
Geraldine though it was a very good idea for Barcelona, but not Madrid.
Her logic was that Madrid is Spanish and big meat eaters,
where as Barcelona is European, with lots of North European vegans visiting..
So I rode the Ducati back to North England, and Geraldine moved to Barcelona,
and started looking at locations and prices of bars, sending me info on many places,
& with google maps I got the feel for the area

In those days, you could invest your retirement fund, in a bar with a licence, and know that you could sell it later,
with the value rising with inflation, even more if was a money makeing operation.

I visited Barcelona for the first time in December 2008, did the tourist thing, and it was warmer than the north of England.
so in May 2009 I rode the Ducati back to Barcelona, took 30 hours, and started looking at, and visiting, potential bars, we visted many places,
& visited the goverment office every week with licence numbers, to check if there were complaints about the bars
and finally after 9 months we found "THE PLACE"..
It had been closed for 9 months, it looked like they had just walked out, without even washing up.
only local people used the street, plus robbers running from the main street.
But vegans being a minority uncatered for group, would risk a slightly dodgy street to get guaranteed vegan food,
remember vegetable sandwiches in Spain, and Catalunya, contain tuna or ham...
So, in the resession, after the 2008 crash, we spent way more than we could have to get the right place.

Then the "BIG MISTAKE"

We were taking over the last 12 years of a contract,
the then owner offered a 25 year contract, but at a higher starting price, which I should have taken.
But having no idea how to run a restaurant, plus having spent most of the available cash on the transfer
and going to be 75 years old at the end of a 25 year contract, I stuck with the 12 years..
The then owner said if it didn't work we could sell, if it did work the rent could double at the renewal of the contract
So we got a Bar on 2nd August 2009..

OPENING

Aug 2nd 2009 We get the keys
Facebook said there were 250 people interested in "vegan"
can't remember if it was just Catalunya or Spain..

THE MENU

FULL HOUSE

THE BASTARD

THE QCatBar

THE EVICTION

"Brexit" Sept / Oct 23

Brexit and the Burger base mix.
Another panic, will it arrive on time??
it used to take 10 days before Brexit, still looking for an EU country that can supply it..