Its a beautiful life for Thatcham restaurateur...finally
The developer behind the project – who once threatened to open a massage parlour instead after he was turned down for the third time – has spoken of his delight that his town centre eatery and delicatessen is finally up and running four years after he first approached West Berkshire Council.
Paul Oldring, of SPO Properties, has now opened Bella Vita on the corner of High Street and the Broadway.
He said: “It’s going to work really well. People have told me they are delighted it is an Italian.”
He added that while the town had top-quality pub grub, Chinese and Indian restaurants, there wasn’t an Italian.
The restaurant, which will be run by Mario Conte, has had the thumbs-up from at least one customer. Nicola Pennicott-Bowen, was full of praise.
She said: “[It’s] a pure delight and a refreshing change to the usual restaurants. The staff are amazing and go the extra mile to make your meal and experience fantastic– so much fun, fantastic food, excellent service. I felt like I had been on holiday for the evening – dancing, laughter, music, gorgeous food. They are to be commended for their hard work and excellent service.”
The unit had been empty since the Threshers store closed in 2009, and the battle began shortly afterwards, when Mr Oldring, who owns the property, applied for change-of-use permission.
However, despite various plans being drawn up, it was turned down on the grounds that there were too many non-retail units in the town already.
Frustrated that the building was empty, Mr Oldring suggested that he opened Miss Whiplash instead, because a massage parlour ticked all the planners’ boxes. He even went as far as putting up ‘coming soon’ posters in the window.
After a Costa Coffee franchise was given permission to open in the Kingsland Centre, on the basis that it had a retail section alongside the café, Mr Oldring renewed the pressure on the council. He argued that with his deli business, he was offering a similar mixed use of the unit.
In May 2011, he was finally granted planning permission, and Bella Vita opened a few weeks ago.
