Where It All Began

A word from the Founder, Jeremy Massarella:

‘Caffe Rizzoli has been an aspiration of mine for the last ten years. It was prompted by a skiing trip to Italy and a delayed flight home – the only time I’ve ever been grateful for such a thing…

Whilst waiting to get home I stumbled across a linear bar with three cabinets of different food. Antipasti and Panini all beautifully presented, Pasticheria, intricately handmade chocolates and mouth-watering Gelato. You could choose whatever took your fancy and wash that down with a glass of Prosecco or Caffé. It was so simple yet with a touch of sophistication, and so I thought how well this would sit with the sophisticated shoppers and travellers of the UK.

I had thought for a long time that Prosecco was misunderstood in the UK, and having looked at the champagne bars in London, I decided that champagne was not in the everyday budget for many people. I visited an established Prosecco Bar (all in the name of research, you understand), and it was so busy with a broad section of age groups and demographics compared with the champagne bar which was very quiet. This spoke volumes to me.

I knew that our first opening in South Yorkshire had to tease people into trying a glass of Prosecco and the quality of the Bortolomiol brand we use and serve it at the right price to enable us to get off the ground. Everything about Bortolomiol is sophisticated and they were very passionate about Rizzoli being a success, so they put forward the starting line-up, which we are still with two years on.’

Caffe Rizzoli opened its doors in August 2012 at Meadowhall Shopping Centre and has since become the place to be. With big plans to expand nationwide, you too could be enjoying a slice of sophistication near you soon.