From the meeting with Marchionne to the article in Il Sole 24 Ore, up to the 50,000 non-stop hours of welcoming customers. There are many episodes linked to the walls of the «al Marinaio» restaurant in southern Trento, which after fifty years of activity will change its management. A historic place for the city, the one until now led by Giovanni Groff and whose helm will now pass to Valentino Dalla Bona, former owner of the «Al casello» restaurant in Spini di Gardolo. The history of the Sailor officially begins in 1974 but in reality it dates back even earlier to the period between 1939 and 1945, when Giovanni’s father, Luigi, served on the armored ship Littorio. The name of the place derives from his stories relating to that experience: «Dad had always been ahead of his time and gave us this push to look forward – explains Giovanni – He told me that he was the first to sell Coca Cola in Trento. I remember the first microwave he bought.” And precisely from this tension towards the future and from the desire to create something new, comes the choice to sell the place: «The new management will start from July and will present new stimuli for the restaurant and bar, we will keep the tobacconist and the hotel”, comments Groff.
But how old were you when you opened the business?
«I was 16 years old and I spent my whole life in restaurants. There, in the first structure, I even met my wife. She was also very young and had come to help us in the kitchen. We had contacted her brother, who we wanted to hire as a chef but at that moment he was already busy. So, she offered to lend us a hand instead. Then she left but we later met again.”
And then there was the change of venue.
«We found ourselves faced with the need to demolish the old premises for the passage of the ring road. I must say, however, that there has always been a calm and all-round discussion with the administration. We have never had any serious misunderstandings and dialogue has always been at the centre, so much so that yesterday, at the 50th anniversary party, there were many of the characters from back then, despite the fact that it was something organized at the last moment with a couple of messages and phone calls.”
Was the idea for the restaurant your father’s or did it come from you?
«My father was a source of inspiration but unfortunately he wasn’t even able to see the design of the structure. But he was the sailor and the experiences he had on board the Littorio inspired the activity. He also passed on to us the open-mindedness with which we have always conducted management. In addition to him, however, there is also another Trentino to which the place is linked.”
Who?
«The architecture of the restaurant is designed on the imprint of Curzio Malaparte’s Villa in Capri. The designer of that work was Adalberto Libera, founder of rationalist architecture and we liked the idea of maintaining that reference.”
And in all these years what have been your greatest satisfactions?
«There are two in particular, the first was the 50,000 hours of non-stop customer service that we completed just before Covid. Filled with enthusiasm, I sent an email to Il Sole 24 Ore, which wrote an article almost immediately. The other was welcoming Sergio Marchionne as a client, when he passed through Trento for the Festival of Economics. We took several photos with him and he was very helpful.”
Do you remember any other celebrity clients?
«Many, from Moser to Paolo Vannetti and Gianni Bort, up to the many councilors but I would like to mention two historic ones even if they are not known in the news».
Who I am?
«Mario Betti and Ilvo Lucianer, who despite being 90 years old still comes to have a glass of glass in the morning and another in the evening. At the 50th anniversary party we gave both of us the plaque of a historic customer friend. They were also moved when Mayor Ianeselli handed over the plaque.”
And what was the thing that moved you the most?
«Some customers, including the two mentioned, started crying when I told them that the place was about to change management. It’s something that left me with a certain emotion, as did seeing the participation in the celebrations and receiving the bottle of Ferrari sparkling wine for the 50th anniversary with the words “Customers in my heart”.
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