i really loved that friendly ramshackle old wine bar on division/devonshire st.i think its called the green room now,though its lost all its charm.
i first met my wife there!(so has she)
does anyone have any stories or old photos taken in there?
does anyone remember any of the staff there?
why did it close?it was always so busy?

Originally posted by misterseven

i first met my wife there!(so has she)


Err..... your first wife met her first wife there! Care to explain?

Lots of things in Sheff have lost their ramshackle charm. It's getting so slick and cold.

I heard that it closed because the people who actually owned the building decided that they wanted to open a bar, so basically forced Mr Kite's out.

I think it does still exist though - moved to Regents Terrace just off West Street.

I too miss the original Mr Kite's and/or Casablanca bar. I think its no longer being there is a great loss to the area. Green's (which I believe the existing place is called) just isn't the same.

You could pop along to Casablanca any time and it nearly always had a vibe. Smoky jazz on a Sunday afternoon, or a Saturday evening for that matter; big bottles of Budvar and decent enough if not extraordinary food.

I miss the place.

I believe the landlord moved Casablanca out because they thought it looked too scuffy for the area. They wanted to open a more modern looking place that fitted in with the other establishments on Dev Street. So what do they do? Open a bar that looks pretty much the same. :suspect: :huh:

I loved it too, in fact was " alcohol sick" for the first time ever at 16 in there, sorry thats gross, but there you go. :)
The Hallamshire was a great place too back in the eighties, with all the bands playing in that tiny room upstair, and then down to the Limit.....but that thread has been done.

Originally posted by Andy78
.... So what do they do? Open a bar that looks pretty much the same. :suspect: :huh:
Basically rob someone of their already established business :mad:

Mr Kites:-
Years ago the landlord was the City Council - I doubt they would have chucked them out, perhaps it transferred to other landlords at some time later.

I did some work in the basement of Mr Kite's and saw some white iced cakes stored on the brick floor. I thought the squiggly shiny lined pattern on the cakes was interesting. Then I noticed the floor had the same pattern. It was the trails from slugs! Hope you didn't have any of the white cake.

I've heard all sorts of theories why Kites was outed.

Apparently the landlord put the rent up really high to get rid of them so they could open their own bar.
That's possibly a load of crap though, as is often the way with such rumours. Who knows?

Mr Kites did re-open in another building, as stated above, although it is closed now. Well, it certainly appeared closed when I last passed.


The Green Room is a good place. Not the same as 'Kites used to be, but still a good place. Escapes the weekend millionaires that frequent the other bars in the area, which is refreshing.

Originally posted by misterseven
i think its called the green room now,though its lost all its charm.
i first met my wife there!(so has she)



Hah, just re-read that. Excellent :)

I quite like Green Room - big bottles of proper Budvar and good acoustic nights. Always has a nice atmosphere and a relaxed crowd.

I heard the landlord bumped the rent up for the building to try and attract in another trendy bar and take advantage of the interest in the area - but then no-one else wanted to move in so they decided to set up a bar themselves! Strange way of doing business!

Mr Kites brings back so many memories, all of them pleasant.

Used to go there after the West Street pubs, before going to The Limit.

Happy days!

Anyone old enough to remember when it was a Chinese restaurant ? The Rickshaw ?

RCS

Do they still have acoustic nights in there?

Mr Kites - originally owned by Brian Mooney for whom the words style and taste were invented.

He was the one who got teh right 'mix' of people in there - and it is always the 'crowd' that makes a place

I recall many a happy night in Kites winebar in the early 80s. It was very 'hip' with the in-crowd of Sheffield musicians too, as was the nearby Washington pub.

Brain Mooney took Mr Kites over from the original and one-and-only Ted Gush whose son Toby was responsible for the drawing of Mr Kite that was the basis of the neon sign outside. Boggit and Sloggit aka Will Ford and Steve Dore plus Alan Dawson were the main labourers who put in the work prior to opening and Will found many of the enamel signs used in the interior.

Ted was also known as Basil Pocklington, manager of The Push who some of you may remember (Rat Ashcroft, Jerry Meek, Tag and someone whose name I have forgotten).

Original staff included Ruby, Marie, Jules, Che, to name but some.

Mr Kites - originally owned by Brian Mooney for whom the words style and taste were invented.

He was the one who got teh right 'mix' of people in there - and it is always the 'crowd' that makes a place
:) My Wife worked there from 1983-1990,she worked for Brian & Verena Mooney the only down side 2 working there was finishing at midnight every night. in fact it was quite a family affair her mum, 2 aunties & 2 cousins also worked there !
Apparantly Brian went bust & carried on trading in someone elses name

i really loved that friendly ramshackle old wine bar on division/devonshire st.i think its called the green room now,though its lost all its charm.
i first met my wife there!(so has she)
does anyone have any stories or old photos taken in there?
does anyone remember any of the staff there?
why did it close?it was always so busy?

I believe the lease ran out & they were then forced out by the lease owners in the 90's who effectively then took over their business they did move to Regent terrace but I think that it is a restaurant now.We use to attend during the West St run before finally the Limit only thing was we could not get a pint in there at that time & had to have a carafe of wine ,it made a good change though.

Hi TeresaB, this is the 'one and only' in person! The original Mr Kite image was Toby's 7 yr old schoolwork version of Batman. I redrafted it to keep the wild fresh dynamism and dropped a K into the chest where the winged silhouette had been. Toby is now a sucessful chef in Australia you can google him as Tobias Gush and there's some reviews etc.

I started the bar with close chum Mini Roberts and was later joined by another old friend George Slater (Jnr or the 3rd). It had been derelict for years but was originally The Rickshaw one of the earliest 'late night' restaurants in Sheffield when you had to have a small dance floor to get a late supper license. We had very little cash but managed to eventually get planning permission and a licence to open as a 'wine bar' in the days when they only sold wine.

We were hugely busy from day one, queues to get in etc etc, but also totally naive in business matters. After about two years of being the grooviest place on the planet we realised we had big cash flow problems and didn't quite know what to do about it all. Being now older wiser and fatter I realise that we then got sold down the river by bent advisors (nuff said they all know who they are!) Life is short and it was a blast while it lasted.

The other guy in The Push was Dave Carr, a quiet guy but a mean guitar!

My thanks to everyone who remembers Kite's with fondness it was fun to read all these different postings.

I loved casablanca's myself and partner were friends of roy who managed the place.

Great to know that you are tuned into the forum and still "trucking" after all these years Ted. Much missed and not just be me I might add. Several members of other bands that were around at the time remember you fondly!

Just a thought though - think I missed out on one of the Kite bodgers, name of Alan "Aussie" Dawson. Born in Sheffield, taken to Oz as a small child and then returned to the UK.

Someone out there in the Outback must know what happened to him when he eventually upped sticks and headed to the other side of the world to look after his aging mama (or maybe she was looking after him).

I think that at one time he lived at Hyde Park flats but then, he seemed to live everywhere and anywhere that would have him. Lived with me and my family just before he took off and was an ace babysitter.

Alan 'Digger' Dawson was indeed about half Australian. He went to Oz as a small child but it didn't work out for his dad who was a bit of a waste of space so they came back when he was about 20ish. He was always game for a larf and became very adept at 'karattey' if I recall! I dont have any coordinates for him but Edwardo might do. Eddy is in Spain now but I'll ask him next time I mail him. Glad you're still live an kickin yourself!

Anyone old enough to remember when it was a Chinese restaurant ? The Rickshaw ?

RCS

I remember the'Rickshaw' went one night with my husband and some friends. We ordered one of their banquets for four. There was enough food for about ten people, they had to put another table next to ours for all the dishes. We tried hard but couldn't eat it all . It was a wonderful meal. Early 1960's

When we took over the derelict site we only really wanted the ground floor for our new bar 'Mr Kites Celebrated Wine Bar & Bistro'. However the first floor had also been restaurant space and kitchens in its Rickshaw days so was a fairly open space and we used some of it for storage but the second floor had obviously been 'staff quarters'. It was subdivided into very small rooms like ships cabins with no windows but a small porthole type window in the doors. They were set out around a sort of common room space in the middle of the building. Apparently the waiters who lived and worked there were all Chinese and played long noisy card games together whenever they weren't waiting tables or sleeping. It must have been a very close community of probably about a dozen waiters and cooks.

Hi Teresa,

I have just registered after being sent this forum by Ted, so here I am waiting for your news.

XXX

Ola Eduardo, alan here ,how wonderful to know your alive and still fighting the bulls,had a
few ales , if i start i'll never finish, i'll sleep on it and get back to you manana, your old amigo, alan.

Hi Alan - do you have an email address so we don't have to use the Forum to chat?

Alan,
I don´t know how you survive all this time without me!

Tomorrow I´m going to New Zealand and I will be back en San Sebastian the 28th of March.

I miss you my friend.
Eduardo

Eduardo, my heart is full just to hear from you, how wonderful. maybe on the way back from kiwi land you can stop over for a visit, I'm in Adelaide Sth. Australia, if your in n. z. you have to fly over my house to get back to espana, you can stop at my place,and I'll cook you a curry.(so you think that's funny) free bed and board thrown in. Teresa, hi, for you and Eduardo my mail address is pollux7@optusnet.com.au , tel. oz 08 82696415. can't believe i am in touch with you all, quite emotional, what a ****ing great thing the internet is.
hi ted, amazed to see that your son Toby is in the same town as me, quite a freaky thing,don't worry i shan't hassle him, and i wouldn't dream of getting in contact unless you had all ready prepared him and he he was amiable to a meet,I'll never forget the day you and Toby picked me up from the hospital, full cast on with crutches to go,and dinner with your dad and the arch-bishop of the Seychelles i believe, looking for money, and you and Toby tittering to yourselves at the table, how wonderful to know how he grew up and what he has achieved, a son to be proud of, o.k. enough from me ,adios amigos, Alan.