Italian deli that has delighted people from far and wide
The cheerful awning of Avellino’s in Bath can be seen by anyone crossing Cleveland Bridge.
A tiny slice of Italy, the shop and deli has been visited by people from all over Britain and Europe. Christian Cocca, an Italian by birth, saw business boom when he opened the shop three years ago.
He said: “My dad’s from Italy, my mum’s from Sicily, and Avellino is the town where I was born.
“I came to Bath when I was three years old, and when I was younger I tried to find an Italian shop, but they were always too artisan and a bit posh.
“You’d go in there and you wouldn’t feel comfortable.”
That is what inspired him to set up his own friendly store – and he hasn’t done it by halves.
“I’ve got five suppliers in Italy; there’s one for the cheeses, the meats, and one for the Italian pastries – they are really popular,” he said.
As well as stocking Italian delicacies that can’t be found online, Mr Cocca has 105 different types of pasta to choose from.
Shoppers have flocked to Avellino’s from Hastings, Manchester – and even Italy.
“I’ve met hundreds of people from Avellino, because they drive past and recognise the name and think, ‘Oh, he’s from Avellino as well’.
“Then some people from Hastings found it online and came in ages ago and loved the shop.
“They came back a few weeks ago because they wanted some bits for Christmas.
“They left Hastings at 6am to come here and bought a hamper, panforte and Italian nougat.”
In between the customers from far, far away, Avellino’s serves the people of Bournemouth, Swindon, Bristol and Trowbridge.
But, of course, many of Mr Cocca’s regulars hail from Bath itself.
“A lot of our customers are from Italian backgrounds and there is a big Italian community in Bath, but we see a lot of Eastern Europeans as well.
“Even people who aren’t from that background; once they try the products, they tend to come back.
“Over lockdown it’s been a lot busier, because people want to cook something nice at home – like they would eat in a restaurant.
“I think people want to enjoy their food now, not just eat the same old thing.”
Mr Cocca regularly posts a “product of the week” on the
shop’s social media, to make choosing ingredients “more exciting” during the pandemic.
Although Avellino’s is thriving, like many shops, it has had to adapt to the times thanks to Covid.
There was once a cafe attached to the deli, but now piles of pasta stand in its place, and there is only room for two customers in the shop at a time.
But Mr Cocca has a plan: next year, he will start doing deliveries to parts of Bath – and he has already had postage requests from further afield.
He said: “I had someone the other week from Manchester who has actually come down twice now.
“He came down to visit someone once, and then he popped in again and he was like, ‘ Look, I want to place some deliveries’.
“And I had to say, ‘ We can’t really do it, it’s a bit complicated to post it to Manchester’.”