Bertinelli played a young American woman, Holly Aldridge, who finds a job working as a waitress in a small café in Paris. The cast consisted of an assortment of eccentric characters from around the world who regularly visited the café, interacting in many hilarious circumstances. Madame Ybarra, a former dictator's wife, was a thinly veiled spoof of Imelda Marcos. Fabiana Borelli, the tempestuous Italian model, and her perpetually jealous Italian lover Carlo, regularly sparred and reconciled, with Carlo declaring of any real or imagined rival, "I kill him! I kill him bad! I kill him two times!" Marcel's on and off relationship with Holly set the stage for comedic interference by several guest star suitors.
Although Lila Kaye played the role of Margaret in the series pilot, the role was re-cast with Happy Days actress Marion Ross when the series was picked up. Within a month, Ross was gone and Kaye agreed to reprise the role.[2] The role of Margaret Hunt was also offered to Rue McClanahan, but she turned it down.[3]
At the time of filming, Valerie Bertinelli was married to guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who appeared in the 7th episode, "Home Alone," as a street musician that Bertinelli's character Holly Aldridge chases out of the cafe. Van Halen spoke one line, "Praat je tegen mij?" The line is Dutch for "Are you talking to me?" [4]
