A space where «people want to relax and spend a lot of time» and which combines the concepts of cafe, restaurant and bar: this is the “new” Aliança, the historic cafe in the city of Faro which reopened this Monday, October 9th.
More than two years after the last reopening, and seven after major remodel, Aliança opened its doors again with new management and a menu based on tapas, meat and seafood.
Despite an investment having been made in some works, the “structural decoration” remains the same. «We provided the space with a more professional kitchen, within the limitations we have, the bar is also now professional and we created a facelift in movable decoration (crockery, cutlery, plants). Furthermore, the musical part will also be essential for this to be considered a restaurant-bar», he explains to Sul Informação Óscar Gouveia, the current manager.
Born in Leiria, the businessman, who in recent years worked in the Algarve in the summer, decided to move here to embrace this project.
«For a few years now, I've been coming to the Algarve in the summer to provide consultancy for clubs, hotels and restaurants. One of my jobs within public relations is to provide consultancy, that is, to deal with everything from decoration to the menu, preparing staff, and then opening the stores and leaving. This project was the first in my life that I decided to stay in», he says.
Although little publicity has been made regarding the reopening day, Óscar Gouveia states that «people are very curious to enter» and that «even during the works there were people asking to see the cafe inside».
Furthermore, the manager clarifies that although Aliança opened this Monday, the official opening party will only take place on October 25th.
«On that day, we will have a show for guests and the population. It is still a private event, but we are also not going to restrict access to the community», explained Óscar Gouveia.
For now, Aliança is open from Tuesday to Friday, from 16pm to midnight, on Saturday, from 00pm to midnight, and on Sunday, from 24pm to 00pm.
«The objective of Café Aliança is not for people to arrive and leave straight away, it is for them to relax and spend a lot of time here. That's why our letter was designed for sharing. The music was also chosen with this in mind so that people feel like they went to a restaurant, but also to a bar and that they went out at night (all in the same space). The older the age group, the more difficult it is for people to find a space they identify with and that is what we want to offer».
As for future cultural activities, Óscar Gouveia states that there will be «occasionally, musical notes» and «other cultural initiatives that may make sense taking into account the space, such as micro exhibitions or theater plays».
Photos: Mariana Sedge | Sul Informação
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