Birthday cheer for Franco's food and friends by Anne-Louise Mazzafiore
Franco and Kim Sanna with son, Domenico
Franco Sanna came to Lancashire from the Italian island of Sardinia in 1974. In November 1984, with his wife Kim, he opened Franco's restaurant in Oswaldtwistle. This month, the family are celebrating twenty years of good food, good friends and lots of good times. Buon compleanno!
Chef, Antonio, hails from Sorrento. He's really enjoying his time in Lancashire, although the weather and scenery in Ossie is, erm, a bit different to southern Italy!
The restaurant has expanded over the years and when Franco and Kim bought the property next door, one of their customers asked if he could decorate the new walls....
... that chap was Michael Flanagan and rather than a quick lick of emulsion, he went the whole hog. His penchant for painting Roman murals with a cheeky and contemporary twist has now taken over the whole restaurant.
He's not averse to including himself in the paintings, usually in a rather magnificent style!
His son and his skateboarding mates have somehow made it into the Roman surroundings too!
Even some of the tables have been turned into works of art.
