Black Cat Coffee Bar – 1970’s

photo 1 supplied by Bertie Wiseman, photo 2 supplied by Terry Huggins

Anyone remember The Black Cat Coffee Bar? Entrance in York Buildings.Here’s Steve Demetri & Paul Wiseman sitting at the window of the upstairs coffee bar. You can see Woolworths over the far side of the road. You can see the Mac Fisheries sign and also Mozley’s sign.

Yvonne Cleland… Ha! The window seat! Practically lived in this place when the Lido closed! Llonka. 1 and 6 to get in with a free drink! Table footie. Look one way – see what was going on in the cafe, look the other way – see what was going on in the town!

Alan Esdaile… I also lived in the window seat when I was not playing the pinball machine.

Martin Richter… and the “mac-fisheries” sign!

Andre Martin… Over MacFisheries

Martyn Baker…  Chatte Noi

Mick Mepham… Was that the same place as the Pam Dor anyone?

Yvonne Cleland… No, Mick, the Pam Dor was in Queen’s Road. The Black Cat’s entrance was in that funny little back street that divides up the Arcade. (Not that I’m old enough to have gone in the Pam Dor but I seem to remember it being there.)

Alan Esdaile… The Pam Dor was over the road from The Disc Jockey .

Andre Martin… The PamDor did start in York Buildings, where the MacFisheries was located, I think it was where the the Chemists shop was, but it might have been in the same location at the Black Cat – must double check listings. the site in Queens road opened in 1961. Location correction – NOT Castle Street, but York Buildings, the no was either 6 Mac Fisheries or 8 which I think did become a Goldern Egg at some point.

Mick O’Dowd….Yeah I remember it. Not the best of places. Pam-Dor much better even though I met my first wife there in the games room on the “Kickin’Donkey?” pin ball machine! Who said romance is dead!

James Turner….Lonka and Lax best hot chocolate on earth,loads of scooters out the back and one Honda step through which was mine ,great memories.

Matt Thomas… This must be where the golden egg was

Yvonne Cleland…  Same area, but the Golden Egg was at ground level.

Tony Court-holmes… oh my god i had forgot about there

Glenn Piper… Yeah, I remember The Black Cat

Mick Knights… Seem to remember that the denizens of the Pam Dor viewed the Black Cat as not quite the full ticket!!!!!!

Barry Newton… I think I frequented them all at one time or another !!

Paul Sleet….and the best table football players.

Phil Gill… Mosleys! If you’d had a bad haircut, Steve D always used to say “Where’d you get that done mush – Mosleys?”

Tony Davies… I’m having another Alz moment,about 1977/78 the Pam Dor, I think, had a different name and I cant think for the life of me what it was called. You had to go upstairs to it and and I think it was opposite Wards Outfitters, somewhere near Arbours the toyshop.It was run by the mother of Guy ????? who used to have the Hi-Fi club in the High St before it burned down. Any Ideas ?????

Yvonne Cleland… Oh, are you thinking of the Astral Club. I started using the Astral Club when I was about 18, and am far too young to remember what it was before! 🙂 Think it’s the same premises that you’re talking about, though…. I think it was a door to the left-hand side of Chelsea Girl that you went through, and stairs up to the club…

Phil Gill… Are you thinkimg of Toffs, run by Margarite “Molly” Russell, the members only den of iniquity where I spent many happy late night hours in the late ’70s? Oooh, the stories I could tell…

Chris Meachen… I frequented them both, at one time or another.. I remember ‘Toffs’ used to provide a ‘meal’ as a condition of their licence;- usually consisted of a kind of curried goo mostly filled with baked beans…

Mick O’Dowd….Pam-Dorians did think that it was a strange place because we were spoilt at The Pam-Dor! We also had the best music!

Paul Dove….I think it was me who took that photo we were always up there.. memories eh,!

Trevor Greenwood… Remember it well, used to work behind the counter with my mate serving coffee and burgers. Think the owner at the time was called John. Also remember Paul and Steve from Calvert youth club when they played in their band. As well as the Pam Dor another popular coffee bar was The Fiesta in Trinity Street.

Martyn Baker… Not forgetting the “cont” at the end of Robertson Street.

Chris Leek… Grief there’s a blast from a far distant past…spent time in there…thanks for the memory

Clive Wiltshire… Whenever I hear a Beachboys track my mind goes back to The Black Cat in Hastings (c.1966)…great memories

Harry Randall… Le Chatte Noir remember it well I used to hang out there and went to school with both Paul and Steve and In a Group with them both!

Neal Hunter… Spent many a night at the Black Cat with Alan Quaife and some nurses. Had a good juke box. Who were the owners?

Alan Esdaile… I think they were ex circus trapeze act Neal I remember they had photos on the wall of them at the circus. Also great pinball machine.

James Turner… Lonka and Lax and they were circus performers, they were the best thing ever for local young ones I have no idea what happened to them after the Black Cat.

Nick Prince… I remember Flamingos burning down. Well it was Rumples burger bar that caught light and it ripped through the upper floors that contained the club.

Sandra Cunningham… Good times in the Black cat 1968. Xx

Paul Cullen… Two of my good friends from that era

Paul Coleman… Black Cat on the odd occasion but normally went to & fro from Pam D’or to Fiesta. When I got older, used to go to “Arcadian Club” in Bexhill, then over the road for a drink in the “Continental,” taxi over to Hastings to “The Globe”, which if I remember right, was above a chip shop near the White Rock & Pier, then on to “The Astral” (formerly “Pam D’or”) for a lock in, & then sometimes the owner would phone the Chinese in Queens Rd at about 3 in the morning, & they’d open up for about 10 of us for a meal! Sometimes got home just in time to say hi to the milkman. . Those days & the drinking men’s clubs with their supper licence were killed off by the extention to the licencing laws. Such a shame. .