Watch: Aldo Zill launches Emporio Atari Italian bar and cafe in Touchwood Solihull

He was swept away by winning Best Chef at the British Restaurant Awards recently. But that didn’t stop him popping up in Touchwood Solihull to launch the popular shopping centre’s super stylish new Italian Bar and Cafe.

Inspired by outlets in his home country, including Florence and Venice, Emporio Atari boasts the best of luxury Italian dining, which is no surprise as this enterprise comes from the team behind the Lucarelli restaurants in the Mailbox and West Bromwich - where Aldo is a resident chef.

BirminghamWorld caught up with Aldo at the launch. He said: “Winning best chef in the British Restaurant Awards was an experience. I’ve never won best chef in any country, but winning it in this country where I came 45 years ago, worked very hard. And it’s a reward for my career, I suppose. And I very much appreciated it.

“The place is inspired by a very, very good Cafe bar anywhere in Italy, really. Florence, maybe or even in Venice, we have places like this, and where you can go and have a little bites. So we have a licence, we do cocktails, we do aperitivo evenings, we have a great menu. We don’t have a massive kitchen, so the menu is a little bit restricted, but we do amazing desserts.”

While the cost of living crisis and rising energy bills are placing serious financial pressure on businesses across the UK, research shows Birmingham itself is an attractive place to set up shop. The city sees a survival rate of just below 30%, however when considering other factors such as rental prices and costs, it ranks 7th in the list of the best places to start a business in the country.

Aldo Zilli says: “The reason Emporio Atari is in the West Midlands is because we are in a shopping centre here. And this is a place we were offered ages ago, even before the pandemic and we waited and waited. And we have restaurants in central Birmingham.

“And we thought why not? You know, I know times are not right, because the hospitality industry is still struggling. But, you know, at least we have the passing trade here to be honest, you know, not being in a high street, the high street’s struggling in Great Britain, but shopping centres are not.”

While the hospitality industry continues to struggle across the entirety of the UK, many new venues are popping up in the West Midlands, such as the much acclaimed Cocktail Club, and many established venues continue to invest large sums into refurbishment. This indicates that there is still a level of confidence in the region’s hospitality industry despite the economic climate. But what can hospitality businesses do to ensure that they are able to attract customers.

Aldo says: “To attract new customers nowadays, it’s not something that - there’s not an obvious trick to attract new customers. It’s, you know, it’s about food. It’s about service. It’s about comfort. It’s about the, you know, the venue, what you’re going to offer. It’s about the wow factor, and you’ll have to be present. You have to look after your customers. Otherwise, why would they come?”

Tony Elvin, General Manager at Touchwood, says, “We are very excited to welcome the stunning Emporio Artari as the new centrepiece bar and coffee shop within Touchwood’s atrium. The design and quality of this operation will give guests a firm idea of how Touchwood is evolving post-pandemic. Café Artari will not just offer coffee but also Prosecco, gelato, cicchetti and more. I hope to see you there.”

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