The Pelosi family history is documented on the Brooklyn Cafe’s menu.

Domenico Pelosi arrived in Glasgow in the early 1900s after a brief spell in Wales.

On 15th October 1931 he opened the Brooklyn Café. 

From the 1960’s it was run by his youngest son Adolfo (Dolfi) and Michael.

They were helped by members of their own families most notably Dolfi’s wife Domenica (Jean). 

Tragically Dolfi then Michael died suddenly within 10 months of each other in 1979 and 1980.

Jean was therefore thrust into running all aspects of the business as well as bringing up and caring for her family. She threw herself into these tasks and was helped in the café by her daughter Caroline and soon after by her son David.

Jean followed her instincts by slowly introducing more home cooking to the menu, to add to the ever popular family ice cream from the Pelosi Ice Cream company.

In 1986 Jean and David invested in the café and completely overhauled the layout and concept of the café bringing in better, wholesome home cooking as she had provided for her family all these years. It was an instant success.

Today there are a host of images on the walls showing the cafe through its evolution.

Another nice nostalgic touch about the interior of the Brooklyn Cafe is the stairs, where the risers have all been formed in glass with the various owners etched into the frosting. It’s a subtle link to the past and shows a place proud of its history.

Source: southsidehappenings.blogspot.