He may be eligible for a free bus pass, but Mario Pizzolla has no intention of putting his feet up.

The 65-year-old restaurant manager still get a buzz from his job at Bradford’s Midland Hotel, with which he has a long association.

He came to England from his native Italy 40 years ago to learn the language. “I’m still learning,” he laughs.

His first port of call was Liverpool, where he worked at the city’s famous Adelphi Hotel. While there he was asked to travel to Bradford to work briefly at the Midland, then part of the same group.

“I had to go for a week to relieve someone who was on holiday,” he says. “I ended up staying there for four years.” He started in the bar then moved to become restaurant and banqueting manager.

He has fond memories of that time. “They were good days,” he recalls. “There was a brilliant atmosphere – the hotel was always full of wool traders and other people involved in the textile business. It was the ‘in’ place to come if you wanted to discuss business over dinner or in one of the private rooms. Or if you wanted to relax over a drink.

“We used to hold classic dances and social gatherings. The guests were very rich, elegant and gentile, and also very modest. Many had their own drivers who would drop them off. They were very polite, nice people.”

With experience under his belt, Mario left to run his own business, opening an Italian restaurant in Bingley and a Greek restaurant in Halifax. Mario’s in Bingley thrives to this day, although he no longer owns it. “I ran it for 18 years, both managing it and cooking, then I sold it,” he says. “Another Mario bought it, so he kept the name.” He also sold the Greek restaurant.

A father of two sons, Mario was keen to return to the hotel trade. “I enjoyed running my own business very much, but when my children had grown up I wanted a change.”

What could be said to be fate took him back to the Midland. “It was a fluke – I had just finished one job and a former colleague rang and said they needed someone to lend a hand for two weeks. “I said ‘with pleasure.’”

Popular and personable, Mario, who lives in Queensbury, is well known by regulars for his welcoming smile at front-of-house. He makes sure diners are comfortable and happy in the stylish restaurant as they tuck into a range of modern English and French cuisine. He also checks that the food is well-presented.

“I greet people and ask how they are. Over the course of their meal I check to see if they are smiling,” he says. “We get a lot of people who are travelling on their own and we want to make sure they feel comfortable.”

Mario is not planning to retire. “They want to keep me, which is nice,” he says. “I’m pleased to be staying – I feel at home in the Midland, the people I work with are all very friendly. If I didn’t have good health I would retire, but not for any other reason. I enjoy going to work.”