Within the past few weeks, two much-loved Dublin institutions reopened their doors - Bewleys Cafe on Grafton Street and Stella Cinema in Rathmines. 

Both of them had been closed for years and there were fears they would never come back. But they did, and the city is only delira. 

The queues for Bewleys have been out the door and everyone I know has already been to Stella or intends to go for a nostalgic night at the pictures soon. 

It proves what we already knew - that Dubliners love places with a story and a soul. 

We don't always jump on the bandwagon and head to the latest gin bar or cereal pop up.

Of course, it's our job at Lovin Dublin to bring you all the latest trends in food and drink, and we love that. Trends aren't a bad thing. 

But with doughnut shops starting to fold it made us think about how shallow and transient these things can be, and it's good to see that the Dubs still have a passion for tradition.

Sadly, sometimes these charming institutions have been there for so long that we forget they're there. 

Una Mullally wrote a piece in The Irish Times this week about The Kylemore Cafe on O'Connell Street closing after 30 years - but other than that, I hadn't heard anyone talking about it. 

The Screen Cinema was also forced to shut last year because of falling attendees, and Mulligan and Haines has replaced our beloved Sweeneys. 

As we said, there's nothing wrong with checking out the coolest new bar or restaurant on the scene. 

But it's important to support smaller, independent businesses whenever you can, especially over big multinationals. 

Choose Bewleys over Starbucks, Burdock's over McDonald's, The Savoy over Cineworld. 

You won't regret it. 

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