Blue Moon
The Award Winning Famous Blue Moon, is an institution in Chester. A 1950-60’s time-warp packed with original furniture and memorabilia from the days of the emerging era of rock and pop music, which in those days gave rise to a new form of meeting place – the coffee bar, a ‘trendy’ place for young people to meet and drink a more sophisticated cup of coffee – Italy’s Gaggia coffee machines appeared making real Espresso coffee, often topped with steam-frothed milk - the forerunner to now so popular Cappuccino and Latte coffees. Another essential feature of the coffee-bar was a Jukebox.
The Famous Blue Moon, situated on the banks of the River Dee here in Chester has 'retired' the original Ami Continental Jukebox from 1962 – with 100 45rpm discs this was a ‘Rolls Royce’ of it’s time and today is a rare and highly sought after machine. This has been replace by a fabulous Rocola Bubbler jukebox, loaded with 100 cd's of music all from the 1950's and 1960's. The Rocola is still made to the original 1947 design with the disc mechanism picking up the selected cd from a carousel just like on the 45rpm model. Just £1 buys you 5 selections!
At the heart of what is referred to locally as Chester’s best cup of coffee, is a replacement for our original Gaggia machine which could no longer cope with the current demand. There are traditional Milk-Shakes & Soda-Floats, a choice of bottled beers and wine and a selection of teas and soft drinks.
The Blue Moon has all the coffee bar favourites, bacon sandwiches, all day breakfasts, cakes etc. and these days, employs 2 chefs who look after an extensive selection of freshly cooked food.
The Blue Moon’s Chef’s Menu now takes the experience up to restaurant standard, constantly changing through the season, traditional home-made pies share listing with Mediterranean, Middle & Far Eastern cuisine and Tex-Mex. In the evening (currently Thursday, Friday and Saturday) The Blue Moon is transformed in to Bistro Blu. A French/Mediterranean restaurant, see our new website for more information www.bistroblu.co.uk
The business remains privately owned. In fact it changed hands in September 2007 following the retirement of Linda Barnard who had sympathetically restored The Blue Moon in the 1990’s when she added much of the café’s collection of memorabilia.
Present owners are Philip Clutton and David Hoyle, well known local businessmen who returned to Chester in 1997 after creating a multi award winning gastro-pub in the Derbyshire Dales; they have added even more original 1960’s pieces, and will continue to uphold the tradition of this magical era.
We are always looking for interesting additions to our collection of 50's & 60's memorabilia, contact us if you have something you want to dispose of.