It was February 1968 and students were at their most revolting, growing their hair, staging sit-ins and sending The Beatles' psychedelic Hello, Goodbye to the top of the charts.

In a Bradford street near the expanding university, a young Italian couple had spotted a dilapidated two-room caf for sale.

Vincenzo and Donatella Cilenti reckoned that this new generation of independent, opinionated young people who were throwing off their parents' post-war conservatism would take to good, home-made Italian cooking like Dave Dee to Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Titch.

They were right. The Italia Caf on Great Horton Road was an instant hit, with its mix of traditional English fry-ups and "foreign" pastas and breads.

Within five years, the Cilentis had bought three adjoining terraced houses and expanded the place, still packed with an eclectic mix of students, lorry drivers and Great Horton residents.

As the decades went by, The Italia became an institution, with generation after generation making it their favourite venue.

So much so that, these days, middle-aged businesspeople constantly appear at the door, making nostalgic trips back to their old student haunt.

Some even drag their children along, setting plates in front of them bearing the same spicy Italian stew that sustained them as they slogged at their degrees and demonstrations.

But in a few weeks' time, 35 years after its opening at the birth of flower power, The Italia is set to close for good.

The Cilentis' children, who grew up in the caf and have run it since their parents retired, have decided it's time for a change. Vito, 43, and his wife Anita, 39, along with his sister Maria Scetta, 55, and her husband Franco, 56, have mixed feelings. "Running the caf has been a wonderful experience," said Vito. "I'll certainly miss the place and all the regular customers.

"But if I don't try something different now, in a few years I might not have the energy.

"We're going to take a few months off and consider the future. It may be we do something completely new. It's a bit scary, but if we're going to move on, now is the time."

Perhaps an era is over. Certainly the National Union of Students believes that. Recently its officials have been bemoaning the end of student activism and the kind of take-on-anything individualism that began in the late 1960s with protests against the Vietnam war and segregation in the southern US.

Eating habits, too, have changed. Italian food is no longer seen as exotic and fry-ups are frowned on by the health police.

Not that The Italia is short of custom. It could still count a dozen diners at any given time during the day. But the cross-section of clientele has changed, said Vito. "Times change. And it's time for us to make a change," he said.

Many will mourn the Italia's passing, some famous names among them - members of Bradford bands Terrorvision and New Model Army planned their futures there. And performers of all persuasions - from Ian Dury to Dave Lee Travis - dined there while playing university and college gigs.

Many a romance has been kindled in the caf.

"One night, a couple in the corner were crying," said Vito. "We thought, 'The food's not THAT bad!' but it turned out that the boy had just proposed and the girl had accepted.

"It's been a fantastic 35 years. Our regular customers have been like family. And it's all down to the recipe my parents started out with - good, inexpensive and wholesome food with an Italian flavour."