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The Genoa Cafe, BeaulyMay 8, 2023The Genoa Cafe on the square in Beauly was co-owned and run by sisters Carmella Pagliari and Teresina McDermott (ms Pagliari) The reason for the name choice – the Genoa Cafe is not known; the sisters  were from Belmonte. They were cousins of my Lorenzo Volante’s  grandmother. Both ran the business until the 1990s. Carmella returned to Belmonte after her retirement. Their brother Anacleto was a mobile fish and chip van proprietor in the area. Carmella died in 2009, Teresina in 2012 and Anacleto in 2017. The attached photo was taken in the early 1970s. [...] Read more...
The Genoa Cafe, Beauly
Renato’s Fish and Chip Shop, DingwallFebruary 20, 2023Renato Onesti grew up as one of eight siblings in Castelvecchio in Tuscany. He came to Scotland in 1957, aged 21. One of his sisters, Liliana, had already settled in Inverness. For the first two years, he worked as a farm labourer near Nairn before moving to Dingwall where he worked at Donati’s Cafe and Ice Cream Parlour. In 1964 he opened Renato’s Fish and Chip Shop on Dingwall High Street. He married Rosemary in the same year. The shop was eventually taken over by his son Roberto and in 2023 it remains in business. Ross County beat Deveronvale 4-1 in the Third Round of the Scottish Cup in 2010/11. In Round Four they were  defeated 4-3 on penalties by Dundee United. Popular as an institution in the town, it was reported in the Ross-shire Journal that when Renato died, ‘the community is mourning the loss of a much-loved fish and chip shop owner’. Renato died in 2021, aged 84. Renato’s sister Liliana was married to Enrico (Henry) Pieraccini. Enrico ran the Highland Restaurant in Inverness, previously owned by his father Primo. Enrico and Liliana’s son Adrian (Renato’s nephew) was a well known restaurateur in Inverness and St Andrews. Adrian’s son Stefano is also a restaurateur. Renato Onesti (Centre),his son Roberto (left of photo) and nephew Adrian Pieraccini. [...] Read more...
Renato’s Fish and Chip Shop, Dingwall
Primrose Cafe and Ice cream Parlour, HopemanFebruary 18, 2023Guiseppe (Joe) Miele was born in the village of Caira near Cassino (between Rome and Naples). His family emigrated to Scotland when he was a young and settled in Forres where his father Michele took over The Northern Fish Restaurant in 1930. Later, in the the early 1960s, Joe moved to the Moray coast where he established the Primrose Cafe in Hopeman. He had a factory above the cafe where he produced traditional Italian ice cream to an original family recipe brought from Italy. Joe and his wife Rosina (Rosie) had four children, Mario, Vittorio (Victor), Roberto and Anna-Marie. His eldest son Mario later ran the cafe until 2010 when his daughters Carla and Louise Miele took over from him, becoming the third generation of the family to run it. Mario continued to make Miele’s of Hopeman dairy ice cream in the factory upstairs until his retirement in 2014.  The ice cream business was sold to Stewart Sutherland and Drew Parkes who established Stew n’ Drew’s ice cream manufacturers and wholesalers. Stewart worked for Mario in his younger days at the factory which is where he learned the trade. The cafe must have also changed ownership around this time as Mario’s daughters are no longer running it. The premises at 27 Harbour Street is currently Hopeman Sands Coffee Shop. The Miele family ran the cafe for over 50 years. [...] Read more...
Primrose Cafe and Ice cream Parlour, Hopeman