The premises are now occupied by Ladbrooke Bookmakers (8 Lamington Road).
Leo Pieraccini ran The Chocolate Shop in Tain.
He is listed in the 1933 Censimento as being at Lamington Street, Tain, though His province of origin is not.
The premises are now occupied by Ladbrooke Bookmakers (8 Lamington Road).
In November 2022, Lorenzo Volante confirmed that Leo was indeed from Barga And that, when he died in 1982, the shop was taken over by his son, Alfie and daughter Ida Pieraccini – until it was sold in 1988.
In the beginning the business was ‘The Chocolate Shop’ with a small, integral tearoom. In due course the premises were turned into a fish and chip shop.
In 1947, when land became available to the rear, the cafe was extended outwards.
Locally, the business was affectionately known as ‘PERRS’.
Leo, a consummate entrepreneur, also had an ice cream factory in the basement that supplied small shops with home-made ice-cream – until companies such as Walls and Lyons monopolised the market in the late 1950’s
Lorenzo Volante is an impeccable source of information, as his parents bought the business and ran it till 2006. He grew up in grew up in the flat above the shop!
For many older Tain Inhabitants, the names ‘Chocolate Shop’ and ‘Cafe Volante’ are synonymous.
