Delicatessen owner Wally Salamon was a traditional shopkeeper, happiest when welcoming customers to his busy city centre store, writes Gaby Koppel.
A magnet for foodies, often cited as the best in Cardiff, or even Wales, Wally's is also a local landmark, known as much for the warmth of its proprietor's greeting as for the cornucopia of foodstuffs on offer.
Walter was the youngest of three sons of Ignatz and Frieda Salamon. The family arrived in Britain on September 3, 1939, just after the declaration of war.
Ignatz's first job was at Aero Zipp Fasteners factory at Treforest, where he was introduced by his brother, Max, who worked there. Max had come over from Berlin with Aero's Jewish founder, Joachim Koppel, who re-established his factory in Wales in 1938.
Ignatz left in 1949 to open a grocery store in Bridge Street, a run-down terrace behind Cardiff city centre.
By then, South Wales had a substantial community of East European refugees, who felt doubly deprived by rationing and the low standard of British cooking. They were desperate for the tastes and smells of home.
The sausage, pickles, herring and sauerkraut they came to buy were not available anywhere else at that time. Soon the Continental Delicatessen was doing a roaring trade.
Walter and his brother Otto each joined their father in the business when they reached 14 and took it over jointly after his death in 1963. When Bridge Street was knocked down to make way for redevelopment in 1981, the two brothers decided to go their separate ways.
Walter set up Wally's in one of Cardiff's famous shopping arcades and Otto eventually ran a highly successful cafe only a few doors away.
A man with a tremendous work ethic, Wally was constantly looking for new markets and new ways of keeping his store ahead of the supermarkets.
He was in the forefront of innovations such as health foods in the 1970s, adding lines first from Italy, Portugal and Germany to his Eastern European staples, then oriental, South African, Israeli and many others.
He had two passions - his work and his family, and often the two overlapped. Having married Laraine Bassett at Cardiff New Synagogue in 1959, he felt strongly about the importance of instilling Jewish identity, traditions and culture into their three children.
Son Steven joined him behind the counter in 1993 after a successful career as an accountant, and continues to run the thriving business today.
Wally is survived by his wife, Laraine; daughters Belinda and Rochelle; son Steven; and 10 grandchildren.