In the 1970s, a host of new food outlets appeared on the map of Katowice. Facilities run by private individuals were rare, so the Provincial Food Retailers Cooperative “Społem” (Wojewódzka Spółdzielnia Spożywców “Społem”) became the monopolist in the market. It brought together dozens of food outlets: cafés, restaurants, fast food bars and tea rooms.

Although it is hard to believe, there were as many as fourteen venues operating on Stawowa Street alone! One of these was the “Randia” tea room at number 12. The neon sign advertising it is a real gem – a teapot from which a cloud of steam rose in a cycle of four sequences. The late engineer Zbigniew Łankiewicz was the creator of this project. Zbigniew took his first steps in a state-owned company, only to set up the NEON-IRSA company, today run by his sons, after several decades of practice. It was the Łankiewicz’s brothers who, on behalf of the café club Strefa Centralna and the Katowicki Skład Neonów, recreated the tea house’s neon sign in 1:1 scale. The neon sign can be viewed during the café club hours at the Instytucja Kultury Katowice – Miasto Ogrodów building at Sejmu Śląskiego 2 Square.