João Franco, the most popular waiter at A Brasileira do Chiado, held Almada Negreiros in huge esteem; when the artist settled in Madrid in 1927, João would often say: “What Mr Almada wouldn’t give for a cup of coffee from A Brasileira right now!”. Dared by a customer, João Franco, in a true display of friendship, purposely went to the Spanish capital to serve Almada Negreiros and other Portuguese artists and journalists who had settled there a cup of coffee. The act was so symbolic that many Spanish personalities who later visited Lisbon made it a point to pop into A Brasileira do Chiado for a coffee and to see João Franco.