

In spite of the foregoing, the profession considered the three brothers as “one of the most renowned and fortunate triumvirates”. In 1931 László left their first business, Mignon on the Danube shore, and decided to stand on his own two feet as well, taking over the other corner room on the ground floor of the MÁK palace with the support of his brothers and lots of loans, and open an elegant musical-dancing café as a counterpart to Monico, under the Elysée name. The business operates in a corporation format, with one member in addition to Gönczi and his wife.
Just three months after its foundation, László Gönczi is forced to look for new partners. The owners of the Sanus Milk Plant, the three Fried brothers, Géza, László and Sándor, take over Elysée; Gönczi remains in a manager capacity − and as a competitor of his own brothers.

It was around this time that among the bourgeoisie, bridge has begun to make spectacular inroads, which – like all other card games – has been a popular card game in cafés. Players received an elegant, dedicated room at Élysée.
It is entirely certain that it was for bridge that the later professional player and the writer of teaching books Géza Ottlik, of whom we can learn at least one heart-warming little tidbit of local specialties: “Elysée had fantastic wieners, and a goodly portion of potato salad with mayonnaise always came on the side with everything.”
Until it was possible, the cafés on the square continued to operate, even providing music and shows.
In the meantime, the owners of Élysée, the Fried brothers have changed their names to Gordon, a Hungarian name, but this was not enough, either to feel safe; at the very least, they had to exit the business, at least seemingly. Two trustworthy friends seemingly purchased the café and then once the situation settled, have returned it to the original owners.

Élysée closed down, the neighbouring Monico primarily served tourist groups under the name Szófia. In 1967 it was rebuilt on the basis of the plans of interior architect Béla Szörényi.
After several decades, Élysée returns to Kossuth Square to write history again.
The BUILDING: The MÁK palace
The two architects of the rental palace hosting the Elysée café were Béla Málnai (1878‒1941) and Gyula Haász (1877‒1951). Málnai was also a student of two pioneers of Hungarian architecture, Ödön Lechner and Béla Lajta. In addition to his historical, eclectic buildings, he had also created masterpieces in the Bauhaus style. Gyula Haász learned from more traditional masters, Alajos Hauszmann, Győző Czigler and Imre Steindl. In addition to apartment buildings, he had designed many significant public buildings for cities outside of the capital. The MÁK palace is an excellent synthesis of the effects they had been subjected to. Its special foyer and wondrous staircases are awe-inspiring