‘It’s been all good memories’ as legendary café closes after
SINCE 1965 John’s Cafe has served the Valleys town of Ystrad Mynach. Now, more than 50 years later, the much-loved Italian café is closing its doors.
Owners John and Meryl Sidoli are retiring, bringing an end to the family business, which started when John’s parents bought the business from two Italian brothers.
Their son was 14 at the time, and always intending him to take over the premises when he grew up, his parents named it John’s Cafe.
“I always remember my father putting the new shop front up,” John said.
“He took down the old sign, which said Mr Lusardi’s Cafe, and put up one that said ‘John’s Cafe’.
“He said ‘Johnny, one day this cafe will be yours’.
“That sticks in my mind. I was only a boy, but now I can see he was thinking of me in those early days.”
In 1974, John’s bride, Meryl, joined him behind the counter at the cafe, and the pair brought up four children, Dina, David, Daniel and Delucia.
“It has been an extension of my front room,” John said.
“Sometimes I feel guilty taking money off the customers because I should be paying them!”
In its heyday John’s was open seven days a week until 10pm, with children from the whole town flocking to play the arcade games John introduced when he took over as manager.
He filled the back room with pinball machines, Space Invaders, and his daughter Delucia’s favourite, Golden Axe.
“I can remember somebody saying to me ‘John, I don’t mind my kids being down the cafe because I know where they are’.
“It was all good memories. In all the 50 years we never had any trouble.”
Although sad to be leaving the cafe, John and Meryl are looking forward to spending more time at car boot sales and visiting family in Italy.
“It’s going to be such a culture shock because we spend all day every day here basically,” Meryl said.
“I suppose looking back, although I hated it at the time, my favourite time was when we lived at the shop and we were open until 10 at night.
“Looking back that was a good time because the children grew up in the shop.”
John and Meryl’s daughter Delucia remembers having responsibilities at the cafe from a young age.
“It would be constantly full of people,” she said.
“The earliest memories I have of being behind the counter was when I was five. My parents are still here five days a week, so it has always been a massive part of our life.”
Although John and Meryl will be spending more time at the house in Italy that John’s parents left him, they don’t plan to leave Ystrad Mynach, where they will still live across the road from the café.