DUBLIN -- Bewley's landmark Dublin cafes cease trading at 6 PM today, even as a campaign to save them continues. Like many others, I've eaten at Bewley's more often during the past month than for a normal year. Revenue at the historical coffee shop jumped 14% last month but the parent company remains in severe financial difficulty.
When both the Grafton Street and Westmoreland cafes close, Dublin will be without the presence of Bewley's for the first time since 1884.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin and a citizens group called BOSCA (Bewley's Oriental Saved Cafes Alliance) will gather at 1330 today in Grafton Street for speeches, songs and readings. A key element in the citizen group's strategy is to amend the Dublin city draft development plan to allow for the preservation of the building's usage as well as its physical construction.
Hugh Oram -- Bewley's
Frank McNally -- "Last orders for Bewley's this evening" in The Irish Times, 30 November 2004
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