Nick Cave reminisced about his time living in Brazil while lamenting the possible closure of Mercearia São Pedro, a bar and grocery store located in the Vila Madalena neighborhood of São Paulo, known as a meeting point for writers and artists.
In the 1990s, the singer lived on the same street as the establishment and became a regular customer, along with his then-girlfriend and their son Luke, who was about two years old at the time.
In a post on The Red Hand Files , the artist reminisced about the good times he spent at the grocery store. “I think I wrote a few lyrics back then, [like] “The Ship Song”, “Papa Won't Leave You, Henry” and “Foi Na Cruz”, but generally I just sat around, smoked and drank beer and chatted with Luke,” he recounted. “Those days in São Pedro were simple and good. They were the best times.”
At the end of his love letter to the moments he lived there, Nick Cave expressed sadness. “A piece of Vila Madalena’s soul will be lost when they demolish that place, and a piece of mine too,” he concluded. “So I say goodbye to Mercearia São Pedro, the best bar in the world, and thank you to Pedro [the founder], for the kindness he always showed to my little boy, Luke.”.
The news of the possible closure of Mercearia São Paulo was released last Wednesday, the 18th, by one of the sons of the bar's founder and co-owner of the establishment. According to Folha de S. Paulo , "the reason would be the sale of the space to a construction company, which would use the land for a real estate development." The brother and partner denies that the place will cease operations.
