100 years of Café Travelletti

HISTORY - April 2026 - 19

Café Travelletti, 100 years old and more than just a bistro

If you hear the name "Café Travelletti", many of you will think of a glass of Fendant shared with friends.

Some will probably remember wild dances - a Carnival, perhaps - that go on until the end of the night. PaulMacBonvin will tell you that this is where he played his first concert, aged just 15. Fewer still will remember the bowling alley: perhaps they trained there with the Boule d'or to win the Valais championship, or simply their first pennies as "bowlers". Some footballers may say they changed clothes in the Travelletti café. But they certainly didn't live in Ayent: it was the opposing team's dressing room!

When we say "Café Travelletti", some older people will remember the 1958 World Cup final, when one of the only televisions in the village turned the bistro into a lively fan base. They'll also remember that if they wanted to make a call, this was the place to find one of the very first telephones in the village.

Those who would have told us about a butcher's shop in the bistro's cellar, or a fruit tree plantation in the days when alcohol was not yet allowed to be sold there, are no longer with us. They would surely have many more fascinating stories to tell.

When you think of Café Travelletti, it's equally hard not to think of wine and vineyards. The Saint-Romain winery, founded by Marcel in 1959 and taken over by his sons Gino and Raoul, will remain intimately linked to that of the café.

None of these memories betray the history of the Café Travelletti, any less than the thousands of jass games that took place there, the major political decisions that were made there, or the family reunions after a prayer vigil. For the Ayentôte community, the Café Travelletti has always been much more than just a café.

But for the Travelletti family, the café is above all a family affair: from grandfather Joseph, to grandson Gino, to their son Marcel, not forgetting their wives Césarine, Jeannette and Marie. Supported by their brothers and sisters, cousins and numerous sommeliers over the years, they have kept this place alive with simplicity and generosity, always present to accompany village life.

The Travelletti family warmly invites you to join them in celebrating the café's 100th anniversary on Saturday, June 6!

On the program: concerts, light refreshments and a warm atmosphere. An exhibition is also being prepared to publicize the history of the place. If you have any archives, photos, objects or anecdotes, please don't hesitate to call us: 078 645 48 02.

Emile