Tinelli’s final flourish

POPULAR Perth restaurateur and owner of JoJo’s Café, Umberto Tinelli, plans to finish his 25-year career in hospitality and sell the Nedlands venue in the next nine months.

Mr Tinelli told WA Business News that, after decades at the helm of some of the city’s premiere establishments, including Campo di Fiore, Chianti on Colin and Il Principe Gran Caffe, he plans to put JoJo’s on the market before the end of the year.

“I’m giving you a tip, and I’m doing myself a favour, I can only do this for ... maybe a year,” Mr Tinelli said.

“I will eventually put it on the market, probably at the end of this year, maybe early next year, and try to enjoy a bit of life.”

Mr Tinelli emphasised that this would be his last venture, despite acknowledging he had tried to retire on two separate occasions, but elected to stay in the restaurant game as new opportunities presented themselves, including the purchase of JoJo’s Restaurant in 2004.

“Sometimes I joke with my customers who have followed me for years, they say ‘where am I (Umberto) going to go?’,” he said.

“They say ‘but you’re going to open another one?’

“I say ‘No, that’s it.’”

During 2004, Mr Tinelli refurbished the old JoJo’s Restaurant overlooking the Swan River at the end of Broadway on Nedlands foreshore into JoJo’s Café and the Acqua Viva function centre.