The Black and White Café was a café in

St Pauls, Bristol St Pauls (also written St Paul's) is an inner suburb of Bristol, England, situated just northeast of the city centre and west of the M32. It is bounded by the A38 (Stokes Croft), the B4051 (Ashley Road), the A4032 (Newfoundland Way) and the A4 ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, that opened in 1971, owned by the Wilks family. The Caribbean food café had a reputation as a drug den and was raided more times by the police than any other premises in the country. Events during a 1980 police raid on the café were a catalyst for the St Pauls riot. The café remained a centre for drug dealing and violent turf wars through the 1990s, with a peak in the early 2000s, and raids also revealed weapons and illegal immigrants. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' dubbed the café "Britain's most dangerous hard drug den". The café closed in 2004 under legal action as a result of new anti-social behaviour legislation and was later demolished.

Bertram Wilks

Bertram Wilks is a well-known member of the Bristol community. Born in

Clarendon, Jamaica Clarendon is a parish in Jamaica. It is located on the south of the island, roughly halfway between the island's eastern and western ends. Located in the county of Middlesex, it is bordered by Manchester on the west, Saint Catherine in the eas ...

, in 1938, Wilks moved to the UK in 1959. He opened the Black and White Café in the

St Pauls St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

district of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1971. Wilks has been featured in the books ''Policing Notting Hill: Fifty Years of Turbulence'', by Tony Moore, and ''Uprising! The Police, the People and the Riots in Britain's Cities'' by Martin Kettle and Lucy Hodges. Wilks is the father of singer-songwriter and producer Emmanuel Anebsa (born Stephen Emmanuel Wilks).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black and White Café St Pauls, Bristol Illegal drug trade in the United Kingdom Demolished buildings and structures in Bristol