Pasta Evangelists Confirms Details of Chiswick Plans
High Road restaurant will be one of first in franchise chain
The company just opened its first branch in the new format in Richmond. Picture: Instagram
July 28, 2024
More details have emerged of plans being made by Pasta Evangelists to open a restaurant on Chiswick High Road.
Following the submission of planning application for the site currently occupied by Oree Boulangerie, a premises licence application has now been made to Hounslow Council.
The fresh pasta specialist, having operated mainly through 47 ‘dark kitchens’ to provide delivery through apps, until last month only had one eat-in venue within the Harrods store in Knightsbridge. It also runs a series of pop-up Pasta Academies across various venues at which you can learn how to make fresh pasta.
It has now opened a branch on Hill Street in Richmond this week and is planning multiple outlets across the UK of which the Chiswick is expected to be the third with a view to having eight by the end of the year. Designs for the Chiswick site show it will have 28 covers inside.
The company recruited Axel Bret as head of growth in May. He had previously worked with Starbucks and Lidl in franchise management and it is understood that the new stores are being launched in partnership with AMSRIC which handles franchise operations for brands such as KFC and Starbucks
The Richmond branch is offering complimentary pasta-making for local children on a weekly basis, as well as Italian wine tastings and informal Italian language lessons. All the pastas served to eat in or takeaway will be made by hand on site and the firm aims to revive forgotten pasta shapes.
Co-founder of the company Finn Lagun said, “Our pasta patrons are to be offered a complimentary glass of wine when they dine in with us and are invited to merrily immerse themselves in the space, which we have adorned with trinkets from our beloved Italy and photography from forgotten parts of the country close to our hearts.
“We've also created a special playlist replete with the best tunes from across the Italian Peninsula, with lots of funk and soul from the 60s through today and even rare Neapolitan language anthems. Then, there's exotic plants rarely seen outside of Italy's arid south - including the fico d'India, or Indian fig, known for its rustic, spiky quality... yet also the ephemeral beauty of its summer fruit.
“Overall, we have tried to deliver an Italy inspired not by gondolas, stereotypes, tropes or seen-it-before snaps of the Colosseum. And I promise you will never hear the words ‘when the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine, That's Amore' emanating from our sound system.“
A drawing of the planned Chiswick shop front and lighting from the planning application
The company was set up in in London 2016 by Alessandro Savelli, Chris Rennoldson and Finn Lagun with Barilla, the world’s largest maker of pasta, taking a majority stake in in 2021. Barilla started as a bakery shop in Parma in 1877.
A planning application was submitted in June for the site between the Little Dobbies shop and Pret a Manger. The licensing application, on which comments can be made until 14 August, requests opening to 11.30pm or 12.30am at the weekend.
Oree continues to trade at the site on Chiswick High Road
Meanwhile Oree Boulangerie continues to trade even though the public notices relating to Pasta Evangelist’s plans are displayed in its windows. Oree has not responded to our request for an update.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
