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For more than 27 years, the old Calgary Antique Drink Bar was opened by Mária Szabó, who was once an actor, and who everyone calls just Viky. In nearly three decades, it has become a frequently cited place of worship, but it has struggled for years. Today, it must be taken seriously that Calgary cannot continue. “I’m trying to get over it because everything is incredible. But I won’t give up until I die, I can’t close. Everything fell into place a lot now, if it weren’t for the girl, I don’t even know what would happen to me …”, says the owner about the situation. THE little girl refers to Rebecca, who works here as a waitress, with whom two more help in Viky’s work, mainly out of love and respect for the place and the place she feels. Some people install this and that, some work, others manage the Facebook page. But right now, these tasks are the least of the problems.
Viky lists the problems almost incessantly: a fallen Swiss franc loan, a usury trap, a parking dispute with the municipality, cars breaking down, a broken pipe, a flood. In addition, sometimes guests also arrive who leave richer than they arrived.
There were golden ages for Calgary, but even then, there were days when they came out in the red, and that still happens today, compounding the difficulties listed.
The division of labor seems to work fine anyway, the helpers serve guests and Viky anecdotes endlessly with anyone who walks in. This is one of the main characteristics of the place.
We also get a rich immersion from the stories. For example, an unusual story is already behind the name of the owner. Vikyt was taught German by Attila József’s brother-in-law Albert Gerhauser, who began calling the girl, who was still preparing for an acting career as Mari Szabó, “Mrs. Viktor.” By the way, none of the names work in a family circle, as Esther is called by her relatives. He himself loves Viky with an ipsilon, just to complete the story.
She had to quit her acting career because she got pregnant and later worked as a model and event organizer. She does not run out of stories, she tells how she played with Júlia Kudlik and Imre Antal, how was László Márkus’s secret birthday party, but she also talks about joint performances with Hof or Pál Szécsi, or about her meeting with Gina Lollobrigid.
It also commemorates the last days of Zoltán Latinovits or the death of Edit Domján. “They didn’t pay attention to him … Edit said that if he was alone at Christmas, he would commit suicide, but they left him alone and he did. Why didn’t they help? They didn’t pay attention to him, they didn’t pay enough attention to Hof, ”he recalls.
Now Calgary needs more attention so it doesn’t act like many legendary Buddha spots.
“Tabáni Kakas, Kis Buda, Balázs Vendéglő, Malomtó Vendéglő, Paks Halászcsárda, Hársfa, Veronika Vendéglő, Budagyöngye Bar”, Viky lists the closed places in Buda.
Calgary, with its eclecticism, stood out not only from the places in the area but also from the capital. Diversity has not weakened, but strengthened, the character of the place, although little has changed in the last almost 28 years, it has always more like it became, giving the feeling of having its own inner time.
By the way, Viky even hides her own age, we didn’t get it when we asked about it. This kind of timelessness is also available to a diverse group of guests. The bar has attracted artists and athletes from the beginning. Previously, Tamás Cseh, Géza Boncz, István Bubik or Albert Györgyi, Bori Péterfy’s youth spent “a lot” here, but even today you can expect András Hajós or Viktor Király to sit at the piano, or Lóci (Lóci plays) after have Márk Járai (Dead Money) play guitar in the corner.
István Csurka and János Bródy were frequent visitors to Calgary, as were Sándor Fábry or Gábor Horn, so the political opposition or worldview did not affect the guests either. Viky sees himself as a man of the right, but is otherwise not interested in politics.
“The point is that someone is a good person and does it for others. I don’t care who’s on which side, “she says, but still calmly remarks that” the opposition is not that good at the moment. “
Although they not only attracted the famous, the hungry young people who spoke in the morning two rounds could count on a solidarity fatty bread as well as the British tourists who spent their bachelor party in Budapest, or the team of transvestites that were regular guests in that moment and surprised with an Esterházy cake. owner.
The sight of many dogs or cats also became commonplace, after all, Viky accepted as many animals trapped in the streets as she could, and over time they became an integral part of the place. There was also a parrot drinking beer foam or a canary sensitive to smoke. Today, only a large white cat and a Transylvanian dog are the inhabitants of the bar.
Together compassion do something good
– articulates the spirit of the bar. This has already fundamentally defined the denomination.
It was in the early 1990s that Alexander Kerekes, a seven-time Olympian, once walked into Viky’s old job at a thrift store and told her about Calgary, Canada, where the air is clean, everyone is fair and people trust each other so much that they don’t close their doors. . Vikt was captivated by the peculiar mixture of freedom, openness and security, which he also wanted to create on Frankel Leó Street. The attractiveness of the place was later due in large part to the fact that it was managed. Now he hopes to continue operating the site with some support.
Many are trying to help, Viky’s relatives in the United States have begun collecting and several actors from the Comedy Theater have joined for the place. It would be easy to sell a lot of items, but the owner is reluctant to sell her souvenirs at the bar. He had already had to sacrifice one of the small stoves to pay off an OTP fee, but he also had to sell the game table and several paintings or clocks.
The owner said the place could already survive on a three-month loan. Also, everyone helps as much as they can, with a donation or even a drink, it is true, these two mean almost the same thing.
“We see the aid as a loan, the support can be consumed,” says the owner, who also secretly hopes to be supported by the many musicians who perform at the bar, at least with their presence. Ask, don’t ask, and not because it doesn’t fit. He’s happy to have someone take care of him the way he envisioned it in his own Calgary.
By the way, Viky had never been to a Canadian city before. “I flew over Calgary once, but that’s it. I’d love to go, but I’ve heard it’s not what it was in the early 1990s anymore, “he says a little disappointed.
However, he is proud that his Calgary has yet to spoil. And he won’t give up so he can go on like this for a while.
The owner still has plans, wants music at the bar again, and has long been thinking of collecting and publishing his unique stories in a book.
I have to write the memoirs. I would be on the cover, and on the back they would be those who deal with my stories. And between the two, the stories.
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