She remembers the Border Cafe before it was the ‘Border Cafe’

Firefighters respond to a fire at the Border Cafe in Cambridge on Dec. 1, 2019.Nic Antaya for The Boston Globe

My best memories of the Border Cafe in Cambridge go back to its rowdy predecessor of a neighborhood bar, the Oxford Ale House (“Readers say goodbye to the wild, wonderful Border Cafe,” Food, Feb. 17). The drinks were potent, food decent, bartenders friendly, and tips plentiful enough to keep a grad student/waitress feeling flush and happy to be dancing her heart out to live music every weekend (on and off duty).

Debra Shapiro

Cambridge