OPENING OF THE NEW MARBLE BAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2890, 30 September 1916, Page 9

OPENING OF THE NEW MARBLE BAR

GIFT FUND BENEFITS BY £80. At tho opening of the nexv Marble Bar in Manners Street yesterday (reported on page 14), the wholo of the takings wero handed over to. the Soldiers' Christmas Gifts Fund, ,and the fund will benefit to tlio extent of £81). Following a trend there is no resisting, ono horn of modern tastes and conditions, there has of recent years in our midst a kind of glorified soft-drink, and ice-cream cafe, which have become part of the life of a large section of the younger generation. The genesis of the business lay in the American soda fountain. With the aid of that ingenious machine and a variety of syrups, very palatable drinks were concocted and proved to bo very serious, rivals to the traditional ginger-beer and lemonade of the softdrink trade. To a variety of cooling drinks were added an appetising array of fancy ice-cream, which strike pleasingly on the palate. The latest cabaret of . the kind is the new Marble Bar, in Manners Street, which has been tastefully and elaborately fitted up for what is a growing demand on the part of the public. The new Marble Bar occupies the shop premises recently in the occupation of Mr. B. Dolierty, but the transformation which has been made in the last throe weeks makes the place unrecognisable.' The main apartment, which is 32ft. in width, by -80ft. in depth, has been converted into an up-to-date caravanserai. Down ono side is a very handsome marble bar, ' which is so constructed as to be of the utmost convenience to the attendants, who concoct the drinks. That to say the old idea of making tho fountain a decorative feature has disappeared, for the engine is now concealed' behind the marble serving bar, from which the "marble barmaids" transfer it to tho tables with which the _ place is dotted. Against the wall is a very handsome sideboard covering the wall for a length of over 20 feet, and beautified by some very elaborate pictorial leadlighting. On the same side is the pantry—a kind of servery with hot and cold prosses almost entirely "constructed of lead-lighting in artistic designs. The walls are huiig with a rich creamtinted paper, relieved here and there with festoons of purple wistaria. The outstanding feature of the Marble Bar is the.winter garden, a raised apartment, or rather a continuation of the main room at the rear, lifted about 3 feet from the floor line with prettily tiled floor, and brilliantly lighted by alarge and very handsome skylight. The walls of the garden (26ft. by 32ft.) have been- filled in very artfully with a series of lake, scenes and seascapes, from the brush of Mr. E. W. Baker, and the effect is that one is seated in some breezy sunlit pavilion by the sea. At the rear again is a large kitchen, with a big three-oven stove, and regiments of ice-chests and warm presses, for there is the winter as well as the summer, trade to be attended to. The Marble Bar will go as far as to provide light luncheons and teas, as well as to supply all the delicacies of the season appertaining to such places. The wholo of the alterations were carrie'd out by Messrs. Campbell and Burke, whilst the decorators and manufacturers of the lead-light- work were Messrs. Smith and Smith. The total takiugs for tho day were £SO. This amount will be handed lo the Citizens' Christmas Gift Fund free of deductions for food and salaries. A good supply of confections was donated by Pascall's, Cadbury's, Fry's, Rountree's, Aulsebrook's, and Nestlo and Anglo-Swiss, Ltd.