The week before this long weekend in March marked a before and after for San Justo and the residents of La Matanza in general: the historic Tokio bar, which for more than 40 years "served the best little coffee" in the West of Greater Buenos Aires.
It was empty and with the doors closed.
The
emblematic meeting place
in the heart of the Party's main town operated until Friday the 17th at the traditional corner of Arieta and Hipólito Yrigoyen, in front of Plaza San Martín and meters from the Cathedral.
The
difficulties in renewing the rental contract
at a sky-high value -according to what it turned out- put the owners of the gastronomic venue in check.
From one day to the next, they had to start
packing cups, plates and all the furniture in the place.
After not being able to renew the rental contract, the owners of the Tokyo had to close surprisingly.
(Photo: The 1 Digital).
It was a bar noted for
political meetings and visits from Matanzas social life leaders
who sat at its tables.
It has always been said that there was no president of the Deliberative Council who has not frequently gone to have a drink at the premises, located a few meters from the legislative body.
Many of the issues that were voted on in the venue, surely, were negotiated before there.
In addition to the councilors, it was frequented by leaders who transcended the limits of the "largest municipality in the country", most of them
recognized Peronist leaders
from a historic PJ stronghold.
Federico Russo, the first mayor since the return to democracy in 1983, and Alberto Pierri, national deputy for four legislative periods and president of the Lower House for a decade, were some of those who had their first coffee gatherings there
.
Also the late Alberto Balestrini, national deputy, provincial senator and mayor of La Matanza, which today gives its name to the Ciudad Evita hospital, and who was the main
political godfather of the current mayor
, Fernando Espinoza, another who knew how to taste Tokio coffee .
José Tucci, a leader with an extensive career in Peronism from Matanzas;
former provincial deputy José de Miguel;
the former mayor and current lieutenant governor Verónica Magario, are other of those who frequented the bar, which not only summoned leaders of the PJ.
He was also seen following a radical history: Jacinto Aluy.
In the most famous bar in San Justo, all the presidents of the Deliberative Council and almost all the councilors were also present.
(Photo The 1 Digital)
Tokio also brought together athletes and celebrities from the area, attracted by a characteristic that was its trademark, and it was already noticeable upon entering: the smell of coffee.
“The good coffee drinker from San Justo is going to miss Tokio a lot.
Not only because of the place, but because it was one of the bastions of what the cafeteria is”, the waiter Guido Medina was proud after hearing the news of the closure, in dialogue with El1Digital, the information portal of the University of La Matanza.
Without hesitation, he assured: “It was the best coffee by far.
I'm not saying this because I've worked here, but because I know it: he was the best in La Matanza and one of the richest in Buenos Aires.
We had clients who came exclusively for the quality of our coffee.”
The last celebrity in the bar
Guido, 47, was the oldest active waiter in the place.
He started with the tray 27 years ago, when he was barely 20 and had only had a few months of experience in a Palermo bar.
The last celebrity that Guido attended was "Flaco" Gareca, DT of Velez Sarfield.
(Photo: The 1 Digital)
His anecdotes are many, and he told them in radio statements: "What a paradox, it is to sit at a coffee table and start talking, we could be there for many hours," he grumbled from the bar, now between chairs and tables stacked up.
Guido recalled that the last celebrity he attended was "Flaco" Gareca, today the brand new technical director of Vélez Sarsfield.
“But he was not the only one, there were many who passed through here in these years.
They always came back, ”he comments.
In the historic bar the murmurs have already died down, the chairs are piled up, the televisions are turned off, but there are those who already say that the memory of that smell of coffee will always remain in the memory of the people of La Matanza and the West.
look also
A new bus branch connects two busy hospitals in La Matanza
They make improvements in an old access to the West of the GBA that was being forgotten
