The Bellpassi brothers are considering additional London branches of their eponymous meatball restaurant after a whirlwind first four months in Tooting, MCA has learnt.
Livio and Lorenzo have spent two years honing their Bellpassi Bros concept in a street food van, using their late father’s meatball recipe, ahead of opening their first physical site the end of July.
They said the restaurant, which serves meatballs in subs, with pasta and greens, has performed “better than expected” so far, leading to interest in more sites.
Lorenzo said they had been approached and were weighing up possible options in central London as well as cheaper up and coming areas of London.
He said: Ideally I’d like to see us expand into other areas of town. We’re still trying to define what we’re doing in Tooting, which is a fantastically ethnically diverse area, and will give us a better idea of where to take the brand when the time’s right.
“We’re looking at a few things and have been approached by a few people. Maybe towards the end of 2017 start of 2018 we will open somewhere new.
“Central London is a no-brainer, and with the all year round tourist trade is very attractive, but then equally there’s also the rents, and the pressure that comes with that.
“We’d either like to go for the jugular in Central London or focus on areas where new graduates are moving to in emerging area.
“We don’t see ourselves in a glass box, we like to see ourselves in a place with character and define what Italian food is on the high street.
On the concept, he added: “Our thing is all about family. We believe in the experience around the table. Anything that can bring the benefits of Italian food. Meatballs are the entry point to the experience, but through that we’d like educate people on new things. In the modern age with all the technology people sometimes forget the first-hand experience, the company and the atmosphere.”
