Umberto Espresso Bar to open handmade pasta shop in Thornbury

Marco Finanzio, owner of Umberto Espresso Bar, Gigi’s Rooftop and wine bar Joanie’s Baretto just down the road, described the shop as a “passion project” and told us that the retail space will feature pasta made by hand using seasonal and local ingredients, as well as sauces and “all the stuff that we’re famous for”.

“It will be more like a food store and we will sell by weight… filled pastas, unfilled pastas, all made on the day.”

The new shop is, in some ways, a response to the upheaval in the hospitality industry caused by Covid, but also the need to diversify and evolve as a business. The popularity of at-home cooking kits introduced over the last few years by restaurants also played a part in the decision to expand into the retail domain.

“People are more confident now because of what happened in Covid where they were buying these [restaurant] food packs and getting the meal together. It’s always been done before, but it hasn’t been packaged up in a nice convenient way.”

The new shop will open mid-2023 in the old Umberto’s space at 822 High Street, and if successful, Marco can see the business opening new outlets across Melbourne.

When it comes to the name of the shop though, Marco is staying tight lipped! However, seeing as Umberto is named for his dad, Joanie’s for his mum, and Gigi for his daughter – we bet he’ll be keeping it in the family.

Hear what Marco has to say about the new artisanal pasta shop here:

More information:

Umberto Espresso Bar: 917 High St, Thornbury VIC 3071 Book it here 
Joanie’s Baretto: 832A High St, Thornbury VIC 3071 Book it here
Gigi Rooftop: Upstairs, 917 High St, Thornbury VIC 3071

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