If you have ever dined in Giovanni’s Restaurant on The Hayes, Cardiff, then you probably know that it is recognised as the longest established independent Italian restaurant in the City. Testament to the reputation and success of The Hayes, in 2013 Giovanni launched its sister restaurant, situated on the affluent Park Place which has gone on to become one of the most Italian popular restaurants in the city centre.
Introducing, Giovanni Malacrino, well-known as a charismatic restaurant owner and entrepreneur in the city, but perhaps less known for his instrumental role in the transformation of Cardiff ’s Café Quarter. Here we talk about his many businesses, The Café Quarter, and the ‘recipes’ to success.
Tell us about your businesses you have had over the years.
From a young age business was my passion, and was at the heart of family life. My Parents owned a fish and chip shop in Grangetown called Malacrino’s, where I often worked as a child after school and by the time I was 18 I was running my first VIP nightclub called Fatsos. I then took the plunge and moved to America to work on luxury cruise liners.
Eventually I missed my home city and a few years later returned to Cardiff, like many Welsh Italians my first lone business venture was selling ice cream.
I fast become the no.1 ice cream seller in the city. In 1983 I fell in love with a building on The Hayes, that housed a café called Planters. It was the perfect location as I envisaged that The Hayes would be at the heart of the city centre for years to come and I wanted to open a centrally located restaurant that served authentic, quality Italian food.
One that had personality and that would be a place that generations of families would come to eat and have fun. For me Giovanni’s on The Hayes has achieved this and so much more, which holds us in good stead against competition from the chain giants.
Following the success of my first restaurant I was eager to expand and launched, The Continental and Latino’s on Mill Lane, followed by the infamous, No.10 Nightclub. All three were a success and become synonymous with good food, entertainment and glamour and were frequented by celebrities and the movers and shakers alike.
In 2013 I opened, Giovanni’s Park Place which offers a more formal dining experience in comparison to The Hayes and fresh local seafood heavily inspires its menu. As a result the restaurant attracts people from all over the city and beyond, including New Theatre goers as well as cast members of the theatre shows. A list stars often pay a visit too, including Danny from The Script, Barry Manilow and Enrique Iglesias who have all enjoyed our authentic Italian food and entertainment. Most recently Giovanni’s Cookery School and Training Centre launched which in March we expanded to create a larger state-of-the-art kitchen and training rooms.
The centrally located multipurpose facility can be utilised as a training school or for team building days and is also available for TV production hire.
Cardiff’s Café Quarter has been an amazing success. How were you involved in this?
When I opened The Continental, Mill Lane was one of the most run down areas in town. It was heavily congested with a three lane road and the area hadn’t been invested in for years. One afternoon I stood at the end of the street and thought “why isn’t Al Fresco dining more popular in the UK?” Having the vision was one thing but throwing the pebble into the pond to bring it to life was a whole other ball game.
To realise the vision I enrolled two other influential business heads in the area, at the time this was the general manager of The Marriott Hotel, Chris Quinn and Developer Michael Eddershaw who owns properties on Mill Lane. They loved the idea and wanted to support my ambitions to transform the street. I appointed an architect to draw my vision which led Michael to contract a model making company to create a 12ft x 12ft model of ‘our Mill Lane’.
The next step was to approach the council to propose the benefits of urban regeneration of Mill Lane, initially they weren’t interested but I purposely left the 12ft x 12ft model in their offices to ensure we remained at front of mind, in the hope that someone’s interest would eventually be piqued and they’d be in touch.
Low and behold I received a phone call from the then visionary city centre manager, Nick Hamilton and the wheels were set in motion to realise Mill Lane as we know and love it today. Work started in 1995 with amazing cooperation from Police licensing, the fire authorities, WDA and the licencing committee. Mill Lane became such an attraction that it inspired Land Securities, the developers of St David’s Shopping centre to invest in the area. Ironic in some ways because whilst the centre was being built it nearly crippled my business as the area had become a building site.
Giovanni’s On the Hayes (38)
Cardiff CF10 1AJ
029 20 220077
onthehayes@giovanniscardiff.co.uk
www.giovanniscardiff.co.uk
Giovanni’s in Park Place (8)
Park Place, Cardiff
CF10 3DP
02920 226299
inparkplace@giovanniscardiff.co.uk
www.giovanniscardiff.co.uk/park-place
