Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 38.5296394267445, -28.62678179989591

Peter Café Sport is located in the historic center of the city of Horta, on the island of Faial, in the Azores. It constitutes a historical and cultural landmark of the archipelago and, particularly, of the island. An expression, enshrined among yachtsmen, sums up this highlight: "If you sail to Horta and don't visit 'Peter Café Sport', you haven't really seen Horta". Jacinto Vilaomier ratifies this feeling by stating:

"Café Sport, symbol of the journey of free men through a beautiful and extensive world without borders of race or customs (...)."(in: "Azul Profundo", 1990.

In 1986, Newsweek magazine considered it among the best bars in the world, being an honorary member of the OCC (Ocean Crusing Club) and the CTT.

History

Azorean House

Ernesto Lourenço S. Azevedo had a handicraft bazaar in Largo do Infante, which was dedicated to selling local products. There she sold embroideries, lace, straw hats and baskets, feather flowers, sieve work and many other items of local handicraft. And it was with these products that, in 1888, he participated in the Lisbon Industrial Exhibition, having obtained, for their quality and diversity, the respective gold medal and diploma.

The turn of the century took Ernesto Azevedo to Rua Tenente Valadim, acquiring one of the buildings that today is included in what is now the "Peter". Calling it "Azorean House", maintaining the trade in handicrafts but also starting to sell drinks, this new establishment allowed its owner the enormous advantage of being closer to the port and, therefore, of all the movement that it generated as unique place of entry and exit of goods and people from the island.

Founder and origin of Café Sport

In 1918 Henrique Azevedo (b. April 20, 1859, d. March 24, 1931), Ernesto's son, transferred the Azorean House to the neighboring building on the north side, maintained the same branch of business and changed its name for "Café Sport", thus enshrining, in the name of the Café, his passion for sport, as he was a regular player of football, rowing and billiards – at a time when the widespread practice of sports among the population was still in its infancy.

It was Henrique Azevedo who launched some of the great features that still typify "Peter" today: the choice of furniture (furniture of the same type is still used today), the eagle as a symbol and the "gin and tonic" as a much appreciated drink.

The tugboats

The twenties brought to the development and consolidation of Café Sport a new and important fact: the parking of Dutch tugboats, from 1921, in the port of Horta. The difficulties of navigating the North Atlantic in winter, the deficient technical conditions of the vessels, the lack of a more reliable and anticipated meteorological forecast, made navigation dangerous and there were frequent requests for help from vessels caught in bad weather. Horta was one of the parking spaces for Dutch tugboats that provided support and assistance to navigation in difficulties. Parking in Faial during the winter, in the so-called "low season", at a time when the tendency of movement in the Café was to decrease, the crew of the Dutch tugboats represented an important element of animation of the economic activity of the Café Sport, by giving it preference and by becoming regular customers and good consumers.

Origin of the name Peter:

At the beginning of the War, the ship H.M.S. Royal Navy's Lusitania II, which had lost its stern due to a depth bomb dropping too early. The ship was stationed in the port throughout the world conflict and was used as a communications distribution base for vessels carrying out military missions in the North Atlantic. It was on the Lusitania II that the name "Peter" was born.

A graduate, the ship's chief ammunition and maintenance officer, who became a friend of the then young José Azevedo (b. May 18, 1925, f. November 19, 2005), son of Henrique, who had found work on the ship during times of war. Recognizing similarities between José and his son named Peter, the officer started calling him Peter, arguing that it was a way of feeling closer to his son. From the English to the Portuguese, the name "Peter" passed so quickly and indelibly that it supplanted the baptismal name of José Azevedo, and by that nickname José Azevedo was known for the rest of his life.

Peter, who had helped his father since he was a boy – starting by distributing drinks for domestic consumption, in straw baskets, to the foreigners who lived in Horta – after the war, he dedicated himself full time to the family business, eventually taking over the leadership of Café Sport from the 1960s onwards.

The adventurers

The 1960s brought a new type of visitor to Faial and its port: the crew of pleasure boats which, for challenging the dangers of the seas in sometimes tiny sailboats, were called "adventurers" by the people of Faial. Horta's growing demand for pleasure craft crews results from the combination of a variety of factors, ranging from its strategic location in the Atlantic and the natural and attractive conditions of its bay, to the unusual ability of the people of Faial to welcome, be helpful, hospitable, creating and strengthening ties of sympathy with foreign visitors. But equally decisive in disseminating the excellence and attractive particularities of the port of Horta among the international yachting community were, without a doubt, the numerous testimonies written in book form, which several generations of adventurers have left on record. And every year, more and more yachts came to Horta and engraved their passage through this port with a painting on the "wall of the dock" and, from 1986, on the Marina itself, built to satisfy this growing demand from Vegetable garden for yachtsmen.

The new image of Café Sport

José Azevedo “Peter”, maintaining the tradition and family aspect of the business, associates his son José Henrique Gonçalves Azevedo (b. 03 May 1960) with the management of the establishment. José Henrique, since 1967, dedicated his holidays to working at the Café, receiving from his grandfather and father the inheritance, the mystique and the personal and friendly treatment that characterize "Peter - Café Sport".

But it was only from 1978 onwards that he devoted himself full time to the company and it was, in large part, due to his commitment that, in 1986, after adaptation works on the upper floor, the "Museum of Peter" was born, visited by thousands of tourists and which is a true gem and the "apple of the eyes" of its owners. Simultaneously, and coinciding with the decline in the manufacture of crafts in ivory and whalebone, a new line of souvenirs was launched, advertising "Peter" and divulging his new image: a whale.

José Henrique Azevedo, son of "Peter", succeeded him at the head of the business, on November 19, 2005.

Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 38.5296394267445, -28.62678179989591

Peter Café Sport is located in the historic center of the city of Horta, on the island of Faial, in the Azores. It constitutes a historical and cultural landmark of the archipelago and, particularly, of the island. An expression, enshrined among yachtsmen, sums up this highlight: "If you sail to Horta and don't visit 'Peter Café Sport', you haven't really seen Horta". Jacinto Vilaomier ratifies this feeling by stating:

"Café Sport, symbol of the journey of free men through a beautiful and extensive world without borders of race or customs (...)."(in: "Azul Profundo", 1990.

In 1986, Newsweek magazine considered it among the best bars in the world, being an honorary member of the OCC (Ocean Crusing Club) and the CTT.

History

Azorean House

Ernesto Lourenço S. Azevedo had a handicraft bazaar in Largo do Infante, which was dedicated to selling local products. There she sold embroideries, lace, straw hats and baskets, feather flowers, sieve work and many other items of local handicraft. And it was with these products that, in 1888, he participated in the Lisbon Industrial Exhibition, having obtained, for their quality and diversity, the respective gold medal and diploma.

The turn of the century took Ernesto Azevedo to Rua Tenente Valadim, acquiring one of the buildings that today is included in what is now the "Peter". Calling it "Azorean House", maintaining the trade in handicrafts but also starting to sell drinks, this new establishment allowed its owner the enormous advantage of being closer to the port and, therefore, of all the movement that it generated as unique place of entry and exit of goods and people from the island.

Founder and origin of Café Sport

In 1918 Henrique Azevedo (b. April 20, 1859, d. March 24, 1931), Ernesto's son, transferred the Azorean House to the neighboring building on the north side, maintained the same branch of business and changed its name for "Café Sport", thus enshrining, in the name of the Café, his passion for sport, as he was a regular player of football, rowing and billiards – at a time when the widespread practice of sports among the population was still in its infancy.

It was Henrique Azevedo who launched some of the great features that still typify "Peter" today: the choice of furniture (furniture of the same type is still used today), the eagle as a symbol and the "gin and tonic" as a much appreciated drink.

The tugboats

The twenties brought to the development and consolidation of Café Sport a new and important fact: the parking of Dutch tugboats, from 1921, in the port of Horta. The difficulties of navigating the North Atlantic in winter, the deficient technical conditions of the vessels, the lack of a more reliable and anticipated meteorological forecast, made navigation dangerous and there were frequent requests for help from vessels caught in bad weather. Horta was one of the parking spaces for Dutch tugboats that provided support and assistance to navigation in difficulties. Parking in Faial during the winter, in the so-called "low season", at a time when the tendency of movement in the Café was to decrease, the crew of the Dutch tugboats represented an important element of animation of the economic activity of the Café Sport, by giving it preference and by becoming regular customers and good consumers.

Origin of the name Peter:

At the beginning of the War, the ship H.M.S. Royal Navy's Lusitania II, which had lost its stern due to a depth bomb dropping too early. The ship was stationed in the port throughout the world conflict and was used as a communications distribution base for vessels carrying out military missions in the North Atlantic. It was on the Lusitania II that the name "Peter" was born.

A graduate, the ship's chief ammunition and maintenance officer, who became a friend of the then young José Azevedo (b. May 18, 1925, f. November 19, 2005), son of Henrique, who had found work on the ship during times of war. Recognizing similarities between José and his son named Peter, the officer started calling him Peter, arguing that it was a way of feeling closer to his son. From the English to the Portuguese, the name "Peter" passed so quickly and indelibly that it supplanted the baptismal name of José Azevedo, and by that nickname José Azevedo was known for the rest of his life.

Peter, who had helped his father since he was a boy – starting by distributing drinks for domestic consumption, in straw baskets, to the foreigners who lived in Horta – after the war, he dedicated himself full time to the family business, eventually taking over the leadership of Café Sport from the 1960s onwards.

The adventurers

The 1960s brought a new type of visitor to Faial and its port: the crew of pleasure boats which, for challenging the dangers of the seas in sometimes tiny sailboats, were called "adventurers" by the people of Faial. Horta's growing demand for pleasure craft crews results from the combination of a variety of factors, ranging from its strategic location in the Atlantic and the natural and attractive conditions of its bay, to the unusual ability of the people of Faial to welcome, be helpful, hospitable, creating and strengthening ties of sympathy with foreign visitors. But equally decisive in disseminating the excellence and attractive particularities of the port of Horta among the international yachting community were, without a doubt, the numerous testimonies written in book form, which several generations of adventurers have left on record. And every year, more and more yachts came to Horta and engraved their passage through this port with a painting on the "wall of the dock" and, from 1986, on the Marina itself, built to satisfy this growing demand from Vegetable garden for yachtsmen.

The new image of Café Sport

José Azevedo “Peter”, maintaining the tradition and family aspect of the business, associates his son José Henrique Gonçalves Azevedo (b. 03 May 1960) with the management of the establishment. José Henrique, since 1967, dedicated his holidays to working at the Café, receiving from his grandfather and father the inheritance, the mystique and the personal and friendly treatment that characterize "Peter - Café Sport".

But it was only from 1978 onwards that he devoted himself full time to the company and it was, in large part, due to his commitment that, in 1986, after adaptation works on the upper floor, the "Museum of Peter" was born, visited by thousands of tourists and which is a true gem and the "apple of the eyes" of its owners. Simultaneously, and coinciding with the decline in the manufacture of crafts in ivory and whalebone, a new line of souvenirs was launched, advertising "Peter" and divulging his new image: a whale.

José Henrique Azevedo, son of "Peter", succeeded him at the head of the business, on November 19, 2005.