Morelli story is bestseller

Cento Anni, a funny and romantic history of the Morelli family on the North Coast, is this week’s number one best-selling book at Waterstones, Coleraine.

Daniela Morelli’s coffee-table read, which is stuffed with photographs of Morelli cafés through the ages as well as staff and family members, only went on sale two weeks ago but is reportedly “flying off the selves.”

News of the book’s success follows just one week after the author and her family successfully organised and then broke the official Guinness World Record for the longest chain of ice cream eaters.

“Whether the current ice cream weather has boosted sales or not, I don’t know, but the Morelli Story seems to have sparked a lot of local interest,” said Waterstones Manager, Rory Kelly.

“I am not only delighted that the book is selling so well but I am also very confident that it will stay at number one for a number of weeks,” he added.

The glossy A5 read is being launched on Wednesday at the Arcadia Gallery on Portrush’s East Strand as part of the Morelli family’s centenary celebrations.

After a congratulatory phone call from the manager of Waterstones, a surprised Daniela Morelli spoke of her delight at how warmly the book had been received, especially by people on her own doorstep.

“I have to say that I am absolutely delighted... I never in a million years expected it to be as popular as it is.”

“From my point of view, these were just stories that I grew up, stories about MY family that I never expected other people would find as interesting as we do,” she said.

Daniela, who is marketing and sales director for Morelli Ices, said everyone else in the family had more faith in her writing skills than she did and couldn’t wait for the book to hit the shelves.

“All my family were 100 percent behind me all the way through this process,” she added.

“And I guess I should have known I had something special when my dad read it and went from raucous laughter to tears in one sitting!”