The Great Café Suizo

With this new section we would like to project a look at the Granada that was before: emblematic places that have been endemic to our city and which, in one way or another, remain in the memory of many Granada residents.

For the gatherings to be conceived as we know them today, four elements were needed: coffee, sugar, tobacco and rum, all imported from Cuba. In Granada, the corner for the gathering par excellence was located in the heart of the center, next to Puerta Real. It was the Café Suizo (Swiss Coffee) or Gran Café Granada, its official name; Their specialties were salad and "leche rizada".

Its rooms were used to close a deal, agree on a deal, to date with lovers, to discuss current politics... and even some authors, now famous, did occasional readings of their works.

As an added curiosity, the Suizo had a peculiarity: it dedicated a part of its bar for the exclusive use of girls who went without male company. This may seem silly to us today because we are more than used to women going out to bars, but since 1536 there was an ordinance that prohibited their entry into taverns. So, in the 1940s, the Granadian women began to free themselves and enter cafes without being accompanied by a man.

It opened in the second half of the 19th century and closed its doors in 1987; In 1992, remodeling work began on the premises to install a fast food chain, Burguer King. From my point of view, this was a complete mistake since we lost part of our Granada identity when the Swiss disappeared. With this article we would like to reflect on the loss of identity of the city, since every time (and especially in this last year) fast food restaurants have opened on Gran Vía. Is it worth losing our cafes, bars, and identity in pursuit of artificiality?

(Photography belongs to González Moreno).