book café was served with notice of eviction from its revered fife avenue location in 2011. from 1 january 2012 it ceased operating in that iconic space that had become an artists’ home. the year began amidst ruins, with the daunting task of securing alternative space, re-locating all operations, refurbishing and re-equipping. at the time, the organisation was reminded of its roots, that it was established in 1981 by war veterans (several engaged in cultural work), it grew out of the struggle initially as grassroots books, transformed into book café in 1997, and finally founded pamberi trust in 2002 as the development wing of a social enterprise.