Restoration of Élelmiszer

The story of Élelmiszer is intertwined with Csemege, as the two signs together adorned the façade of the Unitarian Church’s building on Nagy Ignác Street.

At the Church’s request, in 2021 we dismantled the double Élelmiszer–Csemege signs. One pair was taken in by the Kiscelli Museum, while the other was separated and we restored Csemege first (we wrote about that process in more detail here).

Following the restoration of Élelmiszer, it was placed in the shop window of Kastner Budapest, subtly evoking the past, since the café–coworking space on Pope John Paul II Square opened in the BUVÁTI high-rise back in 2022. In the 1960s, a Mézes Mackó (=Honey Bear) confectionery operated here, also known for its distinctive, childlike handwritten neon signs.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a Mézes Mackó neon in our collection, but Élelmiszer also shone with a striking bluish glow, beckoning the neighborhood’s residents into Kastner.

II. János Pál pápa (Köztársaság) tér 8., Mézes Mackó büfé./1969/Bauer Sándor - Fortepan

Kígyó utca 4-6., Mézes Mackó büfé./1960/Bauer Sándor - Fortepan