In a socialist advertisement from the early 1970s - with a wording specific to the wooden language of that period - it says the following: "Enjoy the joy of the hours of rest to the fullest at "BUCUR" - restaurant of the Tourism Office of the Municipality of Bucharest, Colonel Poenaru Bordea street no. 2, sector 5 – culinary specialties, selected wines; open from 10 am to 3 pm; reserve a table in advance by tel. ––”
The Bucur restaurant (specifically Romanian) had been opened "in 1969, in a beautiful Brâncoven style building, with balconies, period rooms (Romanian, Romanian-Brâncoven, Moorish, Oriental) and a beautiful garden" (cf. From the Şerban Vodă Inn to the Intercontinental Hotel, by Ion Paraschiv & Trandafir Iliescu, Sport-Turism Publishing House, 1979).
In that era, there was a real momentum of recovery of some inns that had made a good figure before the establishment of the communist regime, which was proof that in the "age of trustees" things were also moving in the sense of a recovery of commercial sense based on profit (specifically, by the way, to capitalism, but that's another story): "Starting from 1967 and until 1977, the state trade bodies in the Capital carried out a vast action to bring back into the circuit some old commercial fords". (from Op. cit.) Of course, the newly established Bucur Restaurant could not fall into this category, but the fact that it had a "ford", as they say, was a certainty.
We do not know how many of the customers who at that time (and later) crossed the threshold of the Bucur Restaurant - where, among other things, even in the restrictive times of the 80s, beer brands such as Radeberger, Budweiser or the well-known Polish beer Zywiec - they knew that the establishment had been located in Casa Oprea Soare, work of the famous architect Petre Antonescu (1873-1965), a prominent representative of the Neo-Romanian style.
In order to somewhat satisfy the curiosity of those interested in the configuration and names of the streets from the different eras in which Casa Oprea Soare was founded, we will start the investigation from a Guide to Bucharest from 1962 (published by Meridiane Publishing House). At that time, Colonel Poenaru Bordea street, on which, at number 2, the Oprea Soare house was located, was surrounded by three architectural monuments: the Operetta Theater (demolished in 1986, during the systematization for the Civic Center), the Capital Court (Palace of Justice ) and the Church of St. Spiridon Vechi (also demolished in the 80s and rebuilt after 1990). The adjacent streets were as follows: Strada Apolodor, Strada Sfinții Apostoli, Strada Asilul de Noapte, Strada Profesor Gheorghe Danielopol and Strada Artei.
A very interesting thing is related to the fact that the names of the streets and the configuration on the map look almost the same compared to a map of Bucharest from 1934, which shows us that sometimes the changes are not necessarily necessary, even looking at things from the point of view ideological view. Here, therefore, are the names of the streets from 1934: Strada Apolodor, Strada Sfinții Apostoli, Strada Artei, Strada Profesor Gh. Danielopol (which led to the Street of the Palace of Justice). Number 2 also appears on this map, at the intersection of Apolodor and Colonel Poenaru Bordea streets, where Casa Oprea Soare was located. This whole area belonged, at that time, to Sector III Blue.
What is worth noting - as we also have data here to inspire our investigation - is that in 1969, the year the Bucur Restaurant was opened, no name change appears in the Street Guide either. An important element that must be added is that the inn that the Tourist Office of the Municipality of Bucharest was proud of operated in a "recovered" house - but which had an ungrateful fate, being nationalized, like so many others, by the communist regime installed after the second world war
andthe history of this building begins in 1914, when Dumitru Oprea Soare, a rich man, who did business with timber, entrusts the construction to the architect Petre Antonescu. According to an article signed by Silvia Colfescu (source), the house arrived, by inheritance "owned by Ştefan Soare and his wife, the daughter of the great Mott champagne producer. Confiscated in 1950 by the communist authorities, it was transformed into a winery-restaurant in the 1970s. After 1989, it was sold to investors who exploited it as a hotel-restaurant-casino, making some local transformations that led to degradation , fortunately small scale. The roof (the work of the famous "tinichigiu" from Bucharest Alexandru Dimitriu) suffered the most: the original skylights were replaced by snuff boxes, the lacy guard disappeared. After endless lawsuits, the house was returned to the heiress in 2006."
Casa Oprea Soare miraculously escaped the systematizations of the 80s. However, due to the disappearance of the Operetta Theater (formerly the Queen Maria Theatre), the area was somewhat reconfigured, evidenced by the disappearance of streets such as Strada Artei and Strada Azilul de Noapte. The tavern remained, however, at the same old intersection of Col. Poenaru Bordea and Apolodor streets, where, once upon a time, thirsty microbists would come on foot from Stadionul Republicii or Stadionul Progresul and stop for a pint or a bottle of beer Hi.
Today, in Casa Oprea Soare, former headquarters of the Bucur Restaurant, there is the Brewers' Inn - you can see it menu here, innkeeper who made a very good reputation in Bucharest life. Also for those curious about the history of Bucharest and for those interested in finding out what these places looked like in the past centuries, when the city was no bigger than a provincial town, it must be said that here there was a very interesting intersection of slums with names that today may seem quite unusual: Mahalaua Calicii, Mahalaua Postăvari, Livedea Gospod, Mahalaua Dudescu. But we are talking here about the 16th-18th centuries, times when Bucharest was in full expansion. Today, these areas, which have disappeared, have an air of modernity that no longer reminds of the past (approximately, of course) except through edifices such as Antim Church, St. Spiridon Vechi Church, Radu Vodă Monastery, Bucur Church or, perhaps, above the aforementioned Palace of Justice.
I got to know the heirs well who, after years of interventions and articles in "Free Romania" managed to get it returned to them. I lived in their house in Montreal for almost 2 years.
If the author is interested, I can provide him with more details, unknown even to our friend Gg.
I wish to be contacted ONLY from a private address.
Sincerely, Cornelius