(aka ; "the beer wagon") is a bar and restaurant on Stavropoleos Street in the
Lipscani
Lipscani is a street and a district of Bucharest, Romania, which from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century was the most important commercial area of the city and Wallachia. It is located near the ruins of the old Princely Court built by Vla ...
district of
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
.
The business was originally opened as a brewery in 1879 by Ioan Căbășan and his nephews, Ion, Gheorghe, and Nicolae Mircea. They were originally citizens of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire and from
Cața
Cața (german: Katzendorf; hu, Kaca) is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Beia, Cața, Drăușeni, Ionești, and Paloș. There are three fortified churches in the commune, at Cața, Beia, and D ...
,
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
.
In 1889, Căbășan assigned his lease to his eldest nephew, Ion. Ion died later that same year and was replaced in the family firm by the youngest sibling, Víctor.
Nicolae bought the building at 5 Stavropoleos Street in 1897,
and made plans to open a restaurant there to expand their business operations.
They hired the Austrian architect
Siegfrid Kofczinsky to design a restaurant and brewery building in the
gothic revival style. Co-owners were Nicolae, Ignat, and Víctor Mircea. The restaurant opened in 1899, featuring their beer.
Victor left the establishment in 1912, opening his own brewery and several years later, Nicolae set up Ignat in a wine cellar business.
When Nicolae died in 1929, his heirs assumed control of the business and operated it until the
communist state
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comi ...
nationalized the operation in 1949.
In 1986, extensive restoration was done on the property, led by
Nicolae Gheorghe.
When the
Socialist Republic of Romania
The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peop ...
was overthrown in 1989, the heirs of the Mircea family began efforts to regain their ownership. In 1999, Caru' cu Bere was returned to them and they began extensive renovations to restore the property to its former state.
It is noted for its distinctive
art nouveau interior decoration. It is operated by Dragoș Petrescu's City Grill chain,
and is classified as a historic monument, number B-II-m-B-19728.
Romanian writer
Mateiu Caragiale's
frame story, ', is set in Caru' cu Bere.
Gallery
File:Edificio caru 'cu bere, 01.JPG
File:Barul Restaurantului Caru' cu Bere, Bucuresti.JPG
File:Caru-cu-bere-2017.jpg
File:Caru cu bere.jpg
File:Caru cu Bere 1.jpg
File:Caru' cu bere Restaurant.jpg
References
External links
*
BeerVisits - Description of interior and beers
{{Coord, 44.4321, 26.0981, region:RO_type:landmark, display=title
Buildings and structures in Bucharest
Gothic Revival architecture in Romania
Art Nouveau architecture in Bucharest
Bars and nightclubs in Bucharest
Restaurants in Romania
Historic monuments in Bucharest
Restaurants established in 1879
Buildings and structures completed in 1899
Art Nouveau restaurants
Romanian restaurants
Lipscani