Wife pays tribute to beloved late husband and former Northampton cafÃ© owner of 17 years

Alberto Sgoluppi formerly owned Cafe Morandi in Gold Street for 17 years. His funeral is next Thursday (January 25) in Bugbrooke.

'We laughed, cried, argued, made up and went on. It was never boring.'

These are the words of Linda Sgoluppi, who is paying tribute to her late and much loved husband, Alberto who passed away on January 10 after battling Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr Sgoluppi, 74, was the former owner of Café Morandi in Gold Street where he worked for 17 years and also ran an Italian restaurant in Kingsthorpe called Trattornia Toscana in the 1970s.

Linda said: “Life was a rollercoaster with Alberto.

Linda Sgoluppi and son hold a photo of Alberto where he is pictured as a three-year-old in his native Italy.

“In the beginning when we opened our first restaurant or renovated our first houses we didn’t have much of a clue about most things but we jumped in with both feet and did stuff anyway.”

Linda, now 69, met Alberto when she started venturing into fast-food chain, Wimpy, in Gold Street, as a customer when she was 13 years old.

Alberto later handed her a Saturday job as a pot washer, where she worked alongside his sister.

The pair were later married for 54 years and now have three children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Linda added: “He worked hard all his life.

“He battled for what he thought was right.

“He battled against bad decisions made for Northampton town and anything else that was a travesty.”

Alberto was originally born in Villa Benedetti, on a farm, near Tuscany in Italy.

He grew up during second world war and his family, at the time, had very little to eat and struggled with money.

His father was wounded and one of his uncles was a prisoner of war in Leicestershire, where Alberto, aged 11, later moved with his family.

Eventually he moved to Overstone and went to school in Moulton, before leaving education at 15 to become Wimpy’s youngest manager one year on.

“All of the people that worked for him all adored him,” she said.

“As a family we will continue to reminisce, and as moments catch us out, we will continue to cry, laugh and joke.

“Most of all, we will continue to love him.”

The funeral is at St Michael & All Angels Church of England in Bugbrooke on January 25, at 2.30pm, before a wake at the Sunday School from 3.30pm.