New coffee shop and deli from Lollo Rosso set to open in Morpeth in March 2024

A 96-seater coffee shop and deli will be opening at the former Barclays branch on Bridge Street next to Lollo Rosso.

The two establishments will be linked as after Enrico Petini discussed his idea with the men who have made the restaurant such a success, Giovanni Marabini, Miguel Pupo-Perez and Niko Petrakis, they agreed to run the shop as a partnership of three – with Niko deciding to move back to Greece – and for Enrico to become the new owner of Lollo Rosso.

The new venture will have a ‘high-end London look’ and it will sell home-made Italian style cakes, pastries and gelato. The Italian specialism will also be seen in the sandwiches and meats, olives, cheeses and pastas that will be available.

It is set to open in March once the refurbishment works have been completed.

There will also be afternoon teas with an Italian spin and wine tastings with accompanying Italian food to enjoy at the premises, although they will not be available straightaway.

Enrico said: “This will be a fantastic addition to the town centre and we're really excited about being able to shortly show people how the transformed building will look.

“We plan to make the gelato ourselves in due course, but for now we are using an Italian specialist based in Liverpool and we're sure his high-quality produce will be very popular.”

Everything will remain the same at Lollo Rosso, with Miguel and Giovanni still in place to welcome diners. With Niko leaving the restaurant business, Enrico’s son Matt has joined the team.

After starting out at the Novotel group, Enrico worked at a couple of Italian restaurants before joining a top end furniture manufacturing retail company in the Midlands.

He worked his way up to a high position and when his boss took on the Delcor business based in Seaton Delaval in 2001, he asked Enrico to run the operation at the site. That is when he also became a Morpeth resident as he moved to the town.

He bought the company himself in 2009 and built on its previous success with the opening of new stores, including on the Kings Road in London.

At the start of the decade he felt it was time to move on and he sold the business two years ago.

Enrico said: “I wanted to go back into hospitality and I wanted to open something where I live because Morpeth is a beautiful place that has got better and better in recent years.

“Things then fell nicely into place when the opportunity to take on the former Barclays bank came up, as its large size was ideal for my plans.

“And given its location next to Lollo Rosso and the fact I've known Giovanni, Miguel and Niko for years, we had a chat about potentially joining forces and we’re delighted with what has been agreed.

“For Lollo Rosso, this arrangement means I can use my experience of running a business for example in dealing with the various suppliers whilst Giovanni and Miguel, and their team, can continue doing what they do so well – in my opinion, they are the best restaurateurs in the North East.”