Investment boost gives Al Sorriso appetite for expansion as it marks its first birthday

Al Sorriso, which is run by husband and wife team Luciana Palmieri and Mark Smith, has emerged from Covid-19 with exciting plans to become a destination dining venue for Wolverhampton and Shropshire.

The duo managed to introduce a hugely successful takeaway service during the pandemic and this, combined with small business grants, gave it the breathing space it needed to create a truly authentic Italian food experience.

This includes lots of new dishes inspired by Luciana’s childhood in Giovinazzo, a regular courtyard happy hour and the possibility of hosting a lobster weekend, tapas and music and the village’s first ever Italian breakfast.

“We had only been open for six months when Covid-19 struck and we had to temporarily close the business. It’s not a nice feeling and we were planning for the worst,” explained Luciana, who bases many of her signature dishes on recipes inspired by her mother.

“Our thinking quickly changed to…right, we’re going to survive this and come out of this stronger. Accessing the grant was fantastic and gave us some much-needed breathing space and the chance to create a takeaway offer that has really taken off during lockdown.

"Initially, this was just a few options, but due to demand we increased the menu to include Sunday Dinners, a street food night and cocktails. The ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme has also been a commercial godsend and means we have been extremely busy since we reopened.”

She went on to add: “We used the downtime to really make the restaurant ours with interior improvements, the new courtyard dining experience and kick-starting a major new marketing drive to put us on the map with people outside of the village.”

Al Sorriso, which can seat 45 diners under Covid-19 secure guidelines, has appointed Eleven10Creative to help it develop new branding, website, marketing material and a string of exciting social media campaigns.

The aim is to tell the story behind the restaurant and some of the influences that have been channelled into creating mouth-watering dishes, such as Zuppa di Cozze, Tagliolini and Tagliata de Manzo.

A network of local suppliers has been established to source the freshest ingredients where possible, whilst five jobs have been created over the last 12 months.

Mark Smith concluded: “When you start a business, you know the first year is always going to be up and down, but nobody could have prepared us for what the last twelve months threw at us.

“We came through it all though, thanks in part to the family spirit the restaurant was built on.

“Now It’s all about the future and we want to be recognised as a destination dining venue in Wolverhampton and Shropshire and the new menu and identity will help tell our story and what makes us different.”