We own REAL cafe made famous by Gavin & Stacey – we’ve ‘taken over’ beautiful UK ‘island that’s just like Bondi beach’

GAVIN and Stacey enactment Barry Island connected the representation - but the existent victor is the Italian Godfather of the seaside municipality whose household empire is making a fortune.

Marco Zeraschi, who runs the celebrated Marco’s Cafe from the iconic sitcom, reckons each time is simply a Bank Holiday aft the Christmas peculiar warmed the nation’s hearts again.

His Italian migrant household came from mediocre beginnings but present has a monopoly successful the Welsh seaside edifice - including java shops, crystal pick parlour, burger bar, souvenirs and stone candy shop.

Marco told however having his humble cafe connected the seafront picked to beryllium successful the amusement was similar winning the lottery - and the tills person not stopped ringing ever since.

Every time fans and celebrities from crossed Britain and the satellite marque the pilgrimage to the spot where Ruth Jones’ quality Ness ran her arcade, and Joanna Page’s Stacey worked pulling slushies successful Marco’s cafe.

Even connected a gloomy acold Tuesday successful January the tables are buzzing with tourists and locals buying coffees and crystal creams arsenic they beryllium nether the extended solid pavilion Marco built disconnected the show’s success.

He has welcomed Prince William and Kate to his cafe, and 3 Prime Ministers person visited.

Dad-of-four Marco, who appeared successful Series 3 of the amusement walking his canine on the beach, said: “It each started off, we were shutting down for a large refit, due to the fact that Barry Island utilized to adjacent down for the winter.

“Someone came on saying they were from a accumulation institution and they were doing filming and could I enactment open.

“I said ‘no we’re having a refit’, and past helium said the astir beauteous words, we’ll wage you.

“It was lone a mates of 100 quid. But I had nary thought past what it would crook into.”

Marco said helium recognised Ruth Jones from Little Britain, but helium didn’t person a hint who James Corden was.

But since the amusement was archetypal aired 18 years ago, Marco has made friends with each the stars, immoderate of whom travel backmost to sojourn connected a regular basis.

Marco, who has 10 grandchildren, added: “Larry Lamb comes down present to spell acold h2o swimming. He ever sits and signs autographs and has pictures taken.

“Ruth Jones turns up present and again, she’s fab, she auctions herself retired and the victor gets a cupful of java astatine Marco’s with Ruth and to walk immoderate clip with her.”

He’s besides had celeb visitors coming to spot wherever the amusement was filmed including apical snooker players Mark Williams, Ken Doherty and Dennis Taylor.

Musician Pino Paladino, who played bass for The Who, has besides been down to spot it.

Marco added: “What Gavin and Stacey has done is enactment Barry Island, everyone knows it now, and it shows it arsenic a truly positive, comic spot to live, it’s fixed it this ambience.

“Curiosity is the champion happening for tourism, and that’s what’s happened with Gavin and Stacey.”

He reckons due to the fact that of its popularity the municipality employs an other 100 people, and up to 200 successful the summertime months.

Marco was conscionable 11 erstwhile helium started selling burgers and hotdogs from a tiny seafront cafe other Barry's celebrated funfair.

He tin callback 20 years agone erstwhile a winter’s time would bring successful conscionable a fewer radical walking their dogs connected the beach.

But present business is booming much than ever - with the Zeraschi household cashing in.

His member Tino runs Zio’s Gelateria conscionable 100 yards distant wherever they marque “Britain’s champion crystal creams”.

And visitors seldom spell location without a acquisition from Sofia’s Souvenirs, owned by Marco’s daughter-in-law Rachel oregon a accepted instrumentality of stone from the Rock Shop, owned by his lad Mauro.

If determination are agelong queues astatine Marco’s, visitors tin popular into Giovanni’s owned by his older member John to spot “what's occurin”.

The smallest concern outlet successful the Zeraschi Empire is the Piccolo burger barroom wherever Marco flipped burgers arsenic a schoolboy.

He puts the family’s occurrence down to hard work, beardown Italian values, people’s emotion for Gavin and Stacey - and the beardown enactment of his Welsh-born woman Ruth.

The father-of-four said: “When Gavin and Stacey arrived 17 years agone my Italian contacts crossed the UK were ringing maine to ask: “How did you propulsion that 1 off?”

“It was surely our fortunate time erstwhile Ruth Jones and James Corden acceptable Gavin and Stacey successful Barry Island.

“People from each implicit the satellite travel present due to the fact that of the amusement - Australians perfectly emotion it and thousands person travel to Barry to spot wherever it was filmed.

“Some adjacent remark that Barry is simply a spot similar Bondi beach.”

Marco’s gramps Giacomo came to Wales from the mountainous municipality of Bardi successful North East Italy successful 1912 looking for enactment which helium recovered successful the Ebbw Vale steelworks.

His sons Francesco and Joe followed and enlisted successful WW2, joining the 15th Scottish Division and took portion successful D-Day.

Marco, 66, said: “They were Italians surviving successful Wales, warring with a Scottish regiment and landing connected the Normandy beaches.

“After the warfare the household settled successful the Welsh valleys mining colony of Penrhiwceiber.

“Lots of Italians were surviving successful Wales by then, galore of them moving cafes and crystal pick parlours.”

Marco’s begetter Francesco arrived successful Barry successful 1958 and opened the Piccolo Bar, inactive owned by the household to this day.

In the precocious sixties young Marco would decorativeness schoolhouse and tally to the barroom to assistance his dada service holidaymakers - galore from the adjacent ill-fated Butlins camp.

Marco aboriginal opened the seafront cafe - past known arsenic Softa Freezebar - but would adjacent it down successful the wintertime and find enactment astatine adjacent Cardiff Airport and connected gathering sites.

When Gavin and Stacey was archetypal aired connected 13 May 2007 helium had nary thought it would crook his cafe and the remainder of Barry Island into a goldmine.

The Italian-speaking businessman said: “Now each sunny time is similar a Bank Holiday, adjacent successful the mediate of winter.

“The thought to telephone the cafe Marco’s came from Ruth and James, I can’t convey them capable for that.

“At that clip it was a tiny cafe with a small extortion screen for radical to beryllium nether successful the rain.

“When the amusement started bringing successful loads of visitors I enactment a large solid extortion implicit the apical - that was the commencement of america expanding.”

In 2010 the cafe had a unit of conscionable 2 people, present determination are 8 successful the wintertime and 10 successful the summer.

According to Marco, the life-sized backdrop extracurricular the cafe featuring the show’s main characters is the astir photographed committee successful Wales.

He reckons fractional a cardinal radical person posed determination since helium enactment the committee up 10 years ago.

He said: “Two talented and precise comic radical - Ruth and James - person made a immense quality to the Island. I can’t emphasise capable however overmuch they’ve done for our community.

“There’s thing peculiar astir Barry Island and they captured that successful the show.

“Not conscionable that, they are fantastic radical - I’ve go friends with them all.”

Marco has the telephone numbers of Ruth, James. Steffan Rhodri (Dave Coaches) and Larry Lamb who stars arsenic Mick safely stored connected his mobile phone.

The businessman says helium volition ne'er discontinue but his eldest lad Nino, 45, helps tally the cafe and helium is “nonno” to 10 grandchildren who volition instrumentality implicit the Zeraschi dynasty erstwhile the clip is right.

As the particulate settles aft the show’s epic last occurrence connected Christmas Day, Marco is assured tourists volition support coming to spot wherever their favourite drama was filmed.

He said: “We volition support riding the question - the amusement is successful everybody’s hearts truthful radical volition support coming for a agelong clip yet.”

Gavin and Stacey fans Justin Mears, 50, and his woman Lisa, 55, some civilian servants from Basingstoke, made a pilgrimage to Barry Island aft loving the farewell show, watched by a TV assemblage of much than 19.3m people.

Justin said: “We’ve ne'er been to Barry earlier but we emotion it and person recognised antithetic locations from the show.

“We’ve bought a souvenir mug each from Marco’s to punctual america of our visit.”

Surveyor Mark Whitehouse, 64, from West Bromwich, had a speedy occupation successful South Wales and his woman Lynne went on for the thrust connected the committedness they would sojourn Barry Island.

Lynne, 68, said: “It’s our archetypal clip present and we emotion it. We enjoyed the Christmas peculiar and it’s a shame it was the past occurrence but it was specified a blessed ending.”

Lisanne Mcevoy, 50, came from Manchester for her Christmas present.

She said: “We’re conscionable monolithic Gavin and Stacey fans.

“It’s wholesome, it’s household beingness successful each its brutal glory.

“We emotion the seaside anyhow and we had to travel present to spot it.”