Salvo's, Headingley: Owner of Italian restaurant which changed Leeds' dining scene reflects on 46 years as he prepares to sell

It was also the year Salvo’s opened in the ‘bohemian’ suburb of Headingley, bringing pizza and lasagne to initially bemused customers who had never travelled to southern Europe. Forty-six years on, the family restaurant founded by Salvatore and now run by John and his brother Gip is up for sale – having remained in the same location and under the same ownership ever since.

John and ‘maestro’ chef Gip are preparing to retire, and the decision to market the business has caused John, now 65, to reflect on the changing tastes of the families he has now served for several generations.

"1976 – it was hot, there was a hosepipe ban, I’d finished school and we’d just opened the restaurant. I was helping in the kitchen, Dad was making pizzas, and Gip had already trained at college. It was a very different landscape back then. People weren’t as well-travelled or adventurous. I’d take orders at tables and people would be asking me what mozzarella was, or whether something had garlic or spice in it. They just hadn’t come across those ingredients before. It was the first time they’d tried pizza."

Headingley was the perfect fit for the Dammones, who were driving down Otley Road one day looking for premises when they spotted a restaurant called The Brunch Grill up for sale.

"It was one of those places that did steak, prawn cocktail, black forest gateau. It just had this feel about it – we said ‘this is it’. Headingley was a cosmopolitan, bohemian area full of academics and doctors.”

Salvo’s was one of the first Italian restaurants in Leeds back in the days when dining out was formal and expensive.

"We were a marked step away from restaurants as they had been – they were starched tablecloths, formal staff, and for special occasions. We have always been relaxed, informal and family-friendly. People didn’t eat out much back then, which seems crazy now.”

The mantra has always been affordable cuisine – ‘poor man’s cooking’ reflective of Italy’s less urbanised post-war south, where families would have to make the most of the ingredients they had.

A few famous names passed through the doors in the early decades – 600 people worked at the Yorkshire Television studios on Kirkstall Road, and actors and presenters often popped in, though the Dammones prefer not to name-drop. Musicians Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin and Corinne Bailey Rae are fans, and the late Leeds United footballer Norman Hunter, who ran a sports shop nearby, was a regular.

In an age where the average restaurant’s lifespan is less than 10 years in the same hands, how has Salvo’s both survived and thrived?

"We have constantly reinvented ourselves; the decor now bears no resemblance to the 1970s. We remodel every few years as tastes change.

"People are more adventurous with what they order now, and they have often been to Tuscany and recognise the dishes they tried there. They appreciate the authenticity. Our theme has always been simple, quality ingredients done well.”

The family have ridden out several recessions and local economic slumps, such as the decline of manufacturing industries in 1980s Leeds, yet their affordability has meant they have always been busy and adaptable.

Headingley itself has, in John’s words, ‘come full circle’, and he now sees far more prams on the streets than skips from student house conversions as families have returned to the area.

"It always had students, but it wasn't over-run until the 80s and 90s, when a lot of the family houses near us were converted into HMOs. Some of our original customers moved further out, to areas like Adel and West Park. We though about changing our model, but in the end we stayed as we did. Now, the student houses are reverting back to families again.

"What I’m going to miss most is the customers. Often, their parents came in when they were first married, then they brought their children. I’ve seen people come in at 18 or 19 for their first proper meal out, then come with their partner, then with their children and grandchildren.

"We’ve seen a lot of life milestones – people celebrate their A Level results, then passing their driving test, engagement, funerals. I’ll miss that community the most; it feels like we are part of each other’s families."

The next generation of Dammones are pursuing their own careers and will not take on Salvo’s. Gip’s son Salvatore ran a bar adjacent to the restaurant that has now been sold, though he remains part of the family business. His daughter is an influencer and John’s son has only just finished university.

"Since the sale was announced, our agents Stoneacre Properties have been fielding a phenomenal amount of enquiries. We would love someone to continue the name and tradition and it sounds like that may happen.”

John will continue to take on consultancy work in the hospitality sector, and plans to spend more time travelling to Italy, seeing relations and learning more about cooking.

"I’d like to do a bit more research on Italian food. Gip’s the maestro, but I’ve always loved cooking. I still live a stone’s throw from the restaurant and have done so for 35 years now.”

Celebrities who have eaten at Salvo’s

Music and entertainment

Mel B

Corinne Bailey Rae

Jazz DJs Giles Peterson and Bob Jones

James Brown

Robert Plant

Henry Winkler – ‘The Fonz’

Sport

Alan Smith, ex-Leeds United

Massimo Cellino, former Leeds United owner

Gareth Southgate

Stuart Lancaster

Jamie Peacock

Norman Hunter, ex-Leeds United

Royalty

Sophie, Countess of Wessex ate Salvo’s food at a catered charity event