Just as Mumbai’s once famous and now closed Bastani restaurant was a perfect place for Goans to start their day, back home Satiskars craved for Marliz’s coffee. If Basanti’s meat mince was once highly-prized by Goans, here in Margao it was coffee which ruled the roost at Marliz. There are many stories of marriage, business deals, jobs, career options and land deals woven around Marliz. But the name Marliz, has a story of its own. Like the Taj Mahal, here was a man inspired by love for his wife, to name his business venture after her - Maria and Luiza; she died soon after its establishment.

For many Salcete residents,it was not only about having their first morning coffee while reading newspapers here, it went much beyond that. Its ideal location, a few meters away from the old Margao bus station, meant that it drew customers from varied fields. It served as a link for many professionals, teachers and government servants. It was a place where the creamy layer of Salcete met over a cup of coffee. Having your morning coffee at Marliz was just an excuse for the gossip-happy Goans to  make their way to the restaurant. There were many items on the menu you could pick up for your breakfast, but there were others which were not served by the Marliz staff, but which came as  side “assortments”.

The morning newspapers had all the news that the Satiskars asked for. But some craved for news which did not go into print – the untold stories of affairs, bribery scandals, and more hot news. Its client base came from the far-off villages of Cavelossim to Cansaulim, Curtorim to Cuncolim, Quepem to Raia. Ask Assolna-based Panchayat Secretary Theophilo Almeida  or his politician-cum-businessman friend John Baretto from Benaulim and they will have numerous stories to tell, related as they were to Marliz. It was here that land deals, engagement proposals, career options, job opportunities and business options were discussed and fine-tuned.

If you wanted to bribe some government official then there were people to guide you to that effect. The collector’s building was a stone's throw away from Marliz. The high and mighty from the collector’s building came to Marliz to have coffee. They needed the caffeine dose to give them the adrenalin rush for their routine work. As college students, we sometimes ran into our professors here. In the college canteens we did not have a chance to share the same table with our teachers and have coffee. Here at Marliz we did. If the high and mighty strengthen their professional, social and business links with their association with Marliz, there is another untold story about Stanley Coutinho, a newspaper vendor, who did business from his counter outside the restaurant, until the High Court decision to clear all building passages led to his doom.

He was evicted from the place like many others during the late 90s, in a drive enforced by the Margao Municipality follwing High Court orders. Others who were evicted slowly returned to the place, but Coutinho lost in his fight for survival. The high and mighty who were once so good to him, failed to bail him out of the situation, leading Coutinho to shut his business forever. His place has now been taken over by a non-Goan newspaper vendor who sells newspapers from the foothpath, a few meters away from Marliz. Yet another non-Goan doing business at the expense of a Goan. But the story of Marliz has not being entirely wiped away from the Goan radar. Another sister concern stills operates in the same building of Margao’s Grace church, selling cakes and Goan sweets. Hope is round the corner and not everything is lost.  It’s time Goans put principles into practice, to protect and safeguard the business interests of Goans.

Viva Goa! Viva Goenkarponn! Viva Marliz!