What is Café Bello?
Saying that I own Café Bello to people I meet for the first time usually returns the echo of “What is Café Bello?”
I feel somewhat disappointed not to have a ready made answer if you ask the same question, as I’ve answered it so many times, but find it equally pleasing that a single simple answer doesn’t seem to fit a true reflection of what took a lot of research, thought, planning and a fair amount of investment, never mind the emotions, love and care up to it’s opening and continuous evolution.
Our regulars, as well as first time customers constantly remind us that Café Bello not only represents a modern style coffee shop, but also an ambience of friendliness such as felt in the Mediterranean, with it’s background music, friendly staff and coffee culture club-type customers blending in to one.
How Did Café Bello Come About?
Ginio Gonzalez-Bello and wife Vas bought the Achilles Heel public house in Margate back in late 1987.
It was refurbished and later renamed Bar Barcelona with the addition of Chico’s Mexican restaurant on the first floor, and after 15 years sold it in the summer of 2003.
After 15 years of running a pub whilst trying to raise a family, it was felt that a change was needed to allow for a bit more family time.
As frequent coffee shop worshipers it was felt that with the expertise amassed in the hospitality trade, it would be best served with a new creation, merging the restaurant, coffee and bar boundaries.
Ginio was born in Tenerife and grew up in London from the age of 11, where he studied Mechanical Engineering, eventually working for a few years as a Machine Designer and Project Engineer whilst playing the Spanish guitar semi-professional for about 13 years.
The combination of a mechanical background combined with the creative and musical elements, followed with the pub and restaurant was probably the catalyst for Café Bello.
