We like to think of Salvo's as one big happy family which includes all members of the Salvo's team, old and new. If you have worked at Salvo's at any point in time over our many years in business then we would dearly love to hear from you and what you have been up to since you flew the Salvo's nest. Please use our flown the nest form to let us know what you are now up to. If you have any pictures of your own then why not send them to us on email to be included in this gallery below (email address is at the very bottom of this page). And if you are still in contact with any former staff members who are not listed below then why not give them a nudge to contribute, as we want to have as many staff memories as possible on our web site. Thank you

SALVO'S FAMILY WHO JOINED US IN THE NINETIES
Dates shown indicate the time they spent working at Salvo's

Please click on anyone's name to link to their profile

Name: JIMMY KEY

Worked at Salvo's: 1999

What was your job? Chef de Partie

Where are you living now? Bramhope

What are you doing? I am currently the Head Chef at Bar 166

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? Working with a cracking team and having lots of fun but working HARD at the same time!

Name: ANDY LAWSON

Worked at Salvo's: 1999

What was your job? Chef d

Where are you living now? Horsforth

What are you doing? Have just taken head chef position at Bar 166 and bistro in Horsforth after working sous position for two years, have just got a new menu using local suppliers on the go. Going well so far!!

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? The best memory I have is the staff bonding, no where else I've worked since has had the same team feeling as Salvo's. The big Saturday nights out, waking up in some very random places! With very nasty hangovers! Working with a great team taught me lots about cooking high volume at speed!! Big respect to Gip, John and Mick Leggiero for making my time there spot on.

Name: KASHA FITZMAURICE

Worked at Salvo's: 1998 - 2001 on and off with breaks for travelling and uni

What was your job? Started off as coffee girl then moved through the ranks of Waitress/ Bar Staff/ Cashier then eventually Supervisor

Where are you living now? Back in Leeds temporarily

What are you doing? Just graduated from Newcastle University with a first in Philosophy. Trying to decide what to do with the rest of my life...failing to do so but feeling philosophical about it all!

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? That's a tough one, most of them definately include a very large glass of red wine! From the early days it has to be John and his guitar at the end of the night, from the latter days probably putting  the world to rights with Debs and Wendy over another galss of wine or two. Meeting people who have remained good friends and others who I may have lost touch with but know if I met them in the pub we would never struggle for words reminising about our time at Salvo's. Oh and actually serving customers of course!

Name: ADAM FITZMAURICE

Worked at Salvo's: 1997 till 2001 (off and on)

What was your job? Everything from K.P., Chef to Waiter and Bar man

Where are you living now? Antigua, West Indies

What are you doing? I am the Managing Partner of a Southern Italian Restaurant called Abracadabra's ( www.theabracadabra.com ), in Antigua, and loving it! Currently the H.R. Manger but as usual in this industry have done, and do, pretty much anything required.... even the odd night of D.J.ing.... though still love working the floor and testing wine.

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? To be honest there are so many, trying to name one is impossible. I do though remember learning what the essence of a real Italian family Restaurant truly is. Great food, good people, an amazing atmosphere... plus throw in some characters like Pinu, Gip and John, and great Chef like Mick and a real extended family of staff, and you have an amazing cocktail for success... once a Salvo's guy, always a Salvo's guy.... oh and learning the art of looking busy whilst doing absolutely nothing from John Hobley and playing poker till the early hours of the morning with Dave... thank you.

Name: NICOLA BOARDMAN

Worked at Salvo's: 1997 – 2000

What was your job?Till or DBB
Where are you living now? Shoreditch. London.

What are you doing? Working and living in London at the moment for a Management consultancy. I'm about to emigrate to Sydney in December so if anyone is heading out there, drop me a mail! Hoping to pop up to Leeds before I head overseas so maybe see you then!
What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? There are so many...mainly fuelled by a bottle of Pinot Grigio! The sing-songs, the poker nights, John Hobley & Big Dave, a great family atmosphere and yum food! Oh...and Justine!!

Name: KARL ARMITAGE

Worked at Salvo's: 1996 – 1997

What was your job?Pot wash
Where are you living now? Leeds

What are you doing? Working for a company specialising in time and attendance systems. I install and maintain the systems.
What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? Working with Rob cleaning the dishes. He had a pint but somehow managed to lose it and then called me a theif all night until right at the end when he found it in the cupboard behind the sink! I used to love it at the end of when I got to take a pizza home, best cooked by Pinu. I also remember taking our home time meal out of the oven, burning my hand then throwing it all over the kitchen floor...Dirk (I think that was his name) went mad with me for it!

Name: ZOE FENNER (formerly Stone)

Worked at Salvo's: 1996 – 2000. Then at Salute

What was your job? I started as a part time waitress and then went on to be the assistant manager once I graduated. I then went on to run Salute when it opened.

Where are you living now? Leeds

What are you doing? At present I am the Customer Service Manager for Snozone at Xscape, Castleford. Although this is a move from the restaurant scene it is still customer focused which is what I enjoy!

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? My overriding memory of my time at Salvo's is the fantastic people I met both staff and customers! It really wasn't like a job as it was so much fun! The hard work we all put in throughout service was rewarded with a drink or two (!) at the end of the night and maybe a sing song if we were lucky!!!

Name: LEAH HESTER

Worked at Salvo's: 1996 - 1997/8

What was your job? The Important Bit - On the Till !

Where are you living now? Baildon

What are you doing? Still running Artco Contemporary Fine Art, organising and coordinating art exhibitions and managing corporate art and picture framing business.  Juggling between being a mum to Elke who is now 2 and husband to Kevin who is a furniture designer and maker. 

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? The banter - with the customers and the rest of the staff.  Particularly enjoyed after hours chat and a glass of wine to round the night off. A great vibe, lovely people to work for, and fantastic food!  It felt like going out and working at the same time!

Name: EMMA JONES

Worked at Salvo's: 1995 - 1998

What was your job? Bar person

Where are you living now? London

What are you doing? I moved to London and worked for lastminute.com for 4 years as EA to the CEO and Co-founder. I left 2 years ago to work privately for the other co-founder Martha Lane Fox. At the moment I'm working on her latest business venture, Lucky Voice Private Karaoke overseeing the Press and Marketing www.luckyvoice.co.uk. I still come back home often and still eat at Salvo's as often as possible. I'm getting married at home in December this year so that's going to mean lots of trips up and hopefully lots of dinners out!
What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? I LOVED my job at Salvo's. It was my first job after I left school and although I just worked during my Uni holidays I still managed to feel part of the family. I have memories of Pinu as a customer dating back to the mid-80's when my brother and I used to hassle him to let us make our own mini pizza's. I remember getting very drunk after work on several occasions, I remember JC taking my Jelly Babies hostage in the store room behind the bar and him hanging them from string from the shelves and biting their heads off, I remember Claire and Mark and Zoe and lots of others. The best thing though was always the Internazionale at the end of a shift. Is that bad?!

Name: PIPPA HALE

Worked at Salvo's: 1995 - 1998

What was your job? Drinks Bar Bill!

Where are you living now? Leeds

What are you doing? I'm now self employed as an artist and curator.  My work's changed a lot since I left Salvo's and I've reverted back to conceptual work which I studied at university - that simply means my art practice is ideas-led and the end product is manufactured or created using specialist services.  I'm also co-director of Vitrine a contemporary art project which programmes a series of glass display cabinets and retail window around Leeds city centre, a freelance marketing consultant currently based at East Street Arts, a member of Artsparkle and secretary of Leeds Visual Arts Forum (LVAF).  To find out more go to www.axisweb.org/seCVPG.aspx?ARTISTID=9936

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? Lots of hard work, long hours on your feet and grumpy chefs (Max!) but I enjoyed the work and the banter with regular customers and of course the after-work drinking sessions with staff.

Name: DAVID O'DONNEL

Worked at Salvo's: 1994 - 1999 (then odd shifts if needed until 2002)

What was your job? Restaurant Manager

Where are you living now? Bournemouth

What are you doing? Own Restaurant & Teashop called The Cosy Teapot

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? The best memories I had are all the fantastic people I worked with & of course the late nights, sometimes with the guitar and tambourine, sometimes with a pack of cards but always with a good few pints.  Of course who could forget Pinu and the world's first triangle Pizza - one too many courvoisier. The customers were also very much part of the memory as there were so many regulars who added their own unique flavour to the overall ambience. Five years working at Salvo's and so many fantastic memories that it would be hard to list them all.  It really was a very special time in my life, so Salvo's and all the great people I worked with should stay in my memories for a long time.  Gip & John you had it spot on there with music, menus and staff - Thanks.

Name: JOHN CLAYTON

Worked at Salvo's: 1994 - 1997 (I think it's all a bit of a blur!)

What was your job? "Work shy fop", official title Waiter then Bar Manager

Where are you living now? Liversedge

What are you doing? I work part time for First Direct Bank. Also buy, sell & repair vintage cigarette lighters, jewellery and look after are three children! (Salvo's was so much easier!)

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? Salvo's was one of the best places I ever worked, the staff & the customers where great. Work was fun (sampling wine was tough though!) and when the work was done the winding down at the end of the night was great (double checking the wine was OK!) When you worked at Salvo's you felt you became part of the family. I miss all you guys. JC

Name: KATHRYN ABELL

Worked at Salvo's: 1994 - 1995 ish for about 18 months altogether

What was your job? Cashier and bar

Where are you living now? I live in Huesca, Aragon in Northern Spain.  (Nearest big city Zaragoza and close to the Pyrenees)

What are you doing? I am teaching English just for a few hours a week at a private company in Huesca.  I will be doing a part-time university post-graduate course in tourism after Christmas - in Spanish which is a bit of a challenge.  But mainly I am a housewife looking after 2 children, a dog and a big house!

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? My main memory of Salvo's is the people that I worked with as there was great team spirit and genuine friendship between all the staff.  I worked with Dave, Zippo John, Claire, Esther, Polly, Julie, Ruth, and others whose faces I can picture but whose names escape me at the moment. (sorry!)

I will also never forget the night that all the girls took me out on my hen night in the summer of 1995 and pretty much gave me alcoholic poisoning - I was ill in bed for 3 days afterwards.  We went to a pizza place and the girls kindly ordered my pizza in the shape of a willy and then each bought me a drink from the top shelf to finish off.  Anyone who knows me knows that I don't drink, but that night I drank every last shot of varying colours, smells and tastes.  Martin (hubby) remembers the girls then dumping me on the front doorstep at home wrapped in bin liners and him having to drag me to the toilet where I stayed for the remainder of the night.  Thanks for the memories girls!!!!!!!!!!!

Name: ESTER McHUGH

Worked at Salvo's: 1994 - 1995

What was your job? I was a waitress, working behind the bar and on the till.

Where are you living now? In a small village outside of York

What are you doing? In July I will have worked for Persimmon Homes for 9 years. I was the Customer Care Manager and now I am the Sales Co-ordinator. Basically, I manage the Sales Advisors who work on our developments.

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? My memory of my time at Salvo's is working with really nice people, cheesy I know, but we had such a good laugh when we were at work, when you weren't cracking the whip of course John! My mum reminded me the other day that I wasn't too fond of the long hours working lunchtime and evenings but you always forget those bits!!!

Name: CLARE LEGGIERO (formerly Halliday)

Worked at Salvo's: From 1993 - 2000

What was your job? Waitress and front of house

Where are you living now? I am still living in Leeds, with my husband Mick and our three son's Matteo, Luca and Joe.

What are you doing? I work for a National Children's charity NCH, working with 15-19 year old care leavers who have a learning disability and are preparing to live independently.

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? So many fantastic memories of an unbelievable place to work. The staff, so many are still great friends, the customers, who still say hello to me in the street! The atmosphere, made it a pleasure to go to work. Not too mention, the occasional glass of vino!! John and his guitar, pinu shouting at me (he still does) and where I learnt to appreciate excellent food. Oh and meeting my husband Mick. We are one of many Salvo's marriages!!

Name: ANGIE (ANTJE) MÜLLER

Worked at Salvo's: 1993 - 1995

What was your job? Kitchen

Where are you living now? Berlin, Germany

What are you doing? I work in the field of antiracism and antidiscrimination and give workshops in schools in Berlin. I am married and have a little son, Jesse, who is 8 months.

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? "the afterparties" of the evening shifts and all the friends I made. Still miss you guys.

Name: MELISSA CHATTERJEE

Worked at Salvo's: 1993 - 1994

What was your job? Bar

Where are you living now? London

What are you doing? I am now an investment banker at Goldman Sachs in the City of London, where I have lived & worked for the last 8 years.

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? The amazing team spirit and happy working atmosphere. John & Gip were great, I remember Angie and Ruth with fondness and Pino of course!
Hope you are all still doing well.
Love Melissa x

Name: ALISON TINDALL

Worked at Salvo's: 1992 - 1993

What was your job? Cashier and Bar

Where are you living now? Leeds

What are you doing? Working at the University of Leeds

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? Pinu's singing, his pizzas (mmmmm!), playing cards after work and the customers - can still remember the regulars at that time.  Although hard work, we all had a great time. There was Mick, Max, Kev and Pam in the kitchen and although I can picture most of the waiting staff, can't for the life of me remember their names - old age creeping in. It was fabulous place then and is still now.

Name: ANDREW SUGDEN

Worked at Salvo's: 1992 - 1993

What was your job? Waiter

Where are you living now? Back here in Leeds

What are you doing? After a few years 'down South' in Oxford and London I decided the time was right to return home. I took on the role of General Manager for the Hard Rock Cafe and have been settled now for 3 years.

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? I can remember John and Gip's uncle who made the pizzas and sang really loud, sometimes in tune!

Name: MICHAELA MATTHEWS

Worked at Salvo's: 1991 - 1997

What was your job? Waitress/cashier

Where are you living now? Leeds

What are you doing? Property management

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? Friendships & vino

Name: HAZEL BEGGS

Worked at Salvo's: 1990-1992

What was your job? Waitress/Bar

Where are you living now? Back home in sunny Northern Ireland!

What are you doing? Teaching Home Economics and Child Development in a Grammar School. I am married with two young sons, Robin, now 4, and Christopher, nearly 2.

What overriding memory do you have of your time at Salvo's and who do you remember working with? Salvo's was my first ever job and kept me alive while I was a student at Leeds Met. (..lovely pizzas from Pinu and Hector to take home to share!!) Angela took me under her wing while I was there and made sure everyone was nice to me!!! I will never forget the night when John appeared at my flat to take me to work...I never realised that I was late until I got into work...my one and only clock had stopped! I thought he was just being really nice!! How embarrassing!! It still makes me cringe! I will never forget the great times spent singning and drinking(!), especially after a hectic shift or the many good friends I made and still think about. Hope you are all well xxx