The most significant thing about the 80th anniversary of Bewley's on Grafton Street is that it happened at all.
Three years ago this month, weighed down by a €4 million debt, the great Dublin institution shut its doors.
It reopened in 2005 after its present owners - the Campbell Bewley Group - teamed up with entrepreneur Jay Bourke, who opened two restaurants, Café Bar Deli and Mackerel, within its cavernous interior.
It was standing room only yesterday as staff handed out free coffee and pizza, while the Bewley's Manila String Trio played for passersby outside.
Fire performers and Tony Oscar's Salsa Band also marked the day Ernest Bewley first opened his coffee shop to the public 80 years ago.
Since it reopened, the Campbell Bewley Group has had a court battle with the landlords - a subsidiary of Treasury Holdings - over the lease. It has been resolved and Bewley's management is hopeful a more coffee-savvy nation will ensure its survival.
Manager Paul Dwyer said: "The coffee culture has changed so much even since we reopened. People are getting very conscious about coffee, its origins and what way it is roasted. People even now have their favourite form of latte. It's becoming a little like wine.
"We are finding a lot more customers are between 25 and 35 who grew up with coffee rather than tea. And immigrants don't drink anything else."
