'It's a bit of Rome and we love it!'- Shrewsbury cafe owners say town is 'little Italy' after whirlwind start
The owners of Shrewsbury's newest coffee shop says the town is a taste of Italy after the new business was bowled over by a warm Salopian welcome.
The doors to Shrewsbury's Caffe Oro swung open for the first time on Saturday, August 16 on Hills Lane, a stone's throw from one of the town's other famous Italian eateries, Osteria.
Known as a 'ristobar', the business sits somewhere between a coffee shop and a restaurant, serving up a range of Italian coffee, pizza, focaccia, and street-food style snacks as well as made-to-order meals.
Owner Francesco Dilauro moved to Shropshire from Bristol to live with midlands-based fiance Serena around two years ago, having run a successful coffee shop business in the south-west city.
Francesco originally hails from Manduria in the Puglia region of Italy, an area famous for its world-class wines, and where food and drink is tightly woven into the culture.
But he believes the county town is up there with the best Italy has to offer - and says the people of Shrewsbury know a thing or two about living la bella vita.
"I came to Shrewsbury and my heart just said: 'Francesco, this is your place!' I love it here. I love everything about it, and Shrewsbury just feels like my Italy," he said.
"Italian people love their history, I'm from Puglia in south Italy but when I was a teenager my mum and dad moved to Rome. You know what? Shrewsbury has that same atmosphere, with the cobbled streets and all the history on every corner here.
"The people in Shrewsbury are lovely people, they know how to live and enjoy their life, it's not just work, work work and the mentality is so friendly."
The business employs three people for now but says their opening fortnight has been such a success they're planning to take on more staff soon.
"We opened around two weeks ago and my goodness, have we been busy; the response has been incredible," said co-owner Serena.
"It's been a pleasant surprise, if a little more stressful than we thought, and we weren't expecting it to take off quite as well as it has so we're looking for a barista and some service staff now."
