In times of social networks InfluencersTrends, franchises and entrepreneurs Cool I want to tell you that a coffee looks like a postcard. Similar to those pieces of cardboard we mailed to relatives or bought with the intention of freezing an image, a memory or a feeling forever. Today I present a story about a cafeteria in Villa Devoto. But not one of many that have opened in recent years. It’s something that’s about to be celebrated its first centenary. This is García’s Café. A neighborhood postcard.
Why do I say that Café de García is a postcard that tells the story of Villa Devoto? For the following. Let’s see if they agree with me.
Towards the end of the 19th century, 300 years after the city was founded, the area where the Villa Devoto district is now located remained uninhabited. They belonged to the San Martín party and were only incorporated into the federal capital in 1888. That same year, Miguel Altube, heir to the land and resident of Pilar, went to the city center to file a lawsuit against the railway companies that had illegally occupied part of his property. Altube’s second intention was to put the farm up for sale. The potential deal caught the attention of the Genoese businessman Antonio Devoto who at the time was chairman of the real estate bank dedicated to the purchase and sale of land. What business had Don Devoto tracked down? The economic boom that began after 1880 triggered an unprecedented wave of immigration.
The new arrivals at the port of Buenos Aires settled in tenements in the center, close to their workplaces. But with the development of the railways and, above all, the construction of tram lines, employees began to move and were able to buy property in remote areas. Auctions and lots were organized. However, the lack of city control – coupled with financial speculation that elevated the fringe properties to city value – spooked municipal officials, who suspended all types of ongoing ventures until developers submitted plans that included it Street design and the creation of Green spaces.
This process lasted from 1890 to 1904. However, Villa Devoto was not founded until 1889. Just a year before the suspensions began? How did they receive the information and anticipate the action? Well, because the board of the real estate bank consisted of people who are closely connected to politics and business. Among them were shareholders of tram companies, ranchers, railway concessionaires, civil engineers and the aforementioned Antonio Devoto.
In January 1889, Devoto received an offer to sell the Altube lands and organized one tour in the area where he considered the country’s proximity to the city of Belgrano, the construction of the train station and the route of the rural tram as a strength.
He immediately entrusted the villa project to engineers Carlos Buschiazzo and José Poggi, who proposed a design that broke with the historical Spanish grid. They projected a large central square crossed by two diagonalsthe current Lincoln and Fernández de Enciso avenues. And with longitudinal blocks instead of square blocks for better circulation and use of the surface. They presented the plans to the community and on April 13 – since the district’s founding date – the city’s mayor, Guillermo Cranwell, approved them. A real procedure in analog times express.
However, the creation of the district did not lead to a rapid occupation. The economic crisis of 1890 slowed down the town’s development, which only picked up speed again a decade later. What other significant event changed the neighborhood? At the beginning of the 20th century, the large distribution warehouse was built running water Built in 1894 on Avenida Córdoba, it showed signs of exhaustion. In 1908 a new supply plan was developed with the construction of two new reserve camps in both camps highest points in the city: Caballito and Villa Devoto. The Villa Devoto warehouse was completed in 1917. It is a building with a palatial character in the French Neo-Renaissance style, with stone-like plaster and a mansard finish. It was inaugurated on December 1, 1917 Ten years later, a hundred meters away, Café de García was born.
Café de García opened in 1927 on the corner of Sanabria and José Pedro Varela. The building belonged to the married couple Methodio and Carolina García. It had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a commercial space with entrance through the ochava. With these characteristics it worked for sixty years. Renovations were carried out in 1987. The Garcías moved into another house. Then the room was enlarged. And the double bedroom became a private room, which received the name of its owners: Methodio and Carolina Room.
The years passed, Carolina left and Methodio gave the corner to his children: Rubén and Hugo. That was the paternal condition will work together. Café de García’s popularity continued to grow. It spread throughout the city and suburbs. His attacks reached the ears of the neighborhood’s most famous neighbor: Diego Armando Maradona. Diego became a fan of the fish cakes, squid casserole, vegetable strudel, omelet and caramel sausages.
When Rubén died, his brother Hugo remained in charge of the bowling alley until his death Pandemic forced him to put it on pause. Then another family tragedy struck, leading Hugo to its permanent closure in July 2022. The corner of Sanabria and José Pedro Varela was on the verge of becoming an old postcard of a building destined for demolition. Like the yellowish image of the old boulevard of Mar del Plata. Until Hugo García agreed to continue the family business two gastronomic groups proven experience and gastronomic management.
Reopening the premises took several months. The neighbors were worried and expressed their doubts. So much so that the new managers had to put up a sign to address the uncertainty in the neighborhood. Finally, García’s Café Reopening in early 2024. Since then I have visited him several times. This week it happened again.
The new setting Respect the furniture – checkerboard floor, BoiserieWooden tables and Thonet chairs – and luckily the utensils that the neighbors have donated to the bar over the years. Among other things, copies of the documents of Metodio García, Carlos Gardel, photos of well-known artists, pool and polo cues, the jersey of the local football team: Club Atlético General Lamadrid, a library with coffee information and the corner dedicated to Diego. They also carry on the mailbox on the corner, the sea lantern, the hand pump and an old wagon wheel. The two pool tables are no longer there. The morning manager told me that Hugo gave one to the accountant and took the other home.
What’s gone is the Mediodio and Carolina Hall. This room was integrated into the main living room. And now they’ve decorated the patio with a beautiful mural of Diego and Bone Houseman playing pool.
Café de García is open Monday to Monday from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. The famous snacks are now served daily. The third step that accompanies the cider on tap is the sweet bread. They do it on site. Note: I picked one up for the holidays, but I couldn’t resist seeing it intact in the cellophane until the 24th. I enjoy writing these lines. And I lock the keyboard. It’s exquisite. If you have not recorded the information, Café de García will do so sweet bread all year round. Neighbors of Villa Devoto and the surrounding area try the sweet bread from Café de García. It’s like going shopping at a neighborhood landmark and picking up an old postcard as a souvenir, but in this case edible.
Other must-sees at Café de García include the Ojo de Diego – steak eye with roasted peppers, mint chimichurri, horse fries – and the Fabada Asturiana. There still is The men of García management. As the parishioners repeat. Alberto, 89 years old, is a must see on the weekends.
Finally, I would like you all to get to know Café de García. Enjoy your stay. The place is very suitable for photography, but I recommend you put your phone away. Live with the history of the corner. Keep the feeling of visiting a place that will be 99 years old in 2026. And to tell others about this experience, remember the days when we used postcards. I repeat, in case the information goes unnoticed, in the corner The mailbox is still there.
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