2 days ago
City restaurant proves 'dreams come true' with authentic wine bar and cafe plans
OWNERS of a city restaurant are a step closer to making their dreams come true with an expansion to create an authentic wine bar and café plan.
Gianluca Tilotta and Gaetano Cinao, who own Benedictos on Sidbury, revealed their extension plans are a step closer after a meeting with interior designers.
The Sidbury business will remain open while work is carried out to extend the store to accommodate a café, wine bar, and boutique hotel.
Benedictos currently serves as an Italian restaurant and acts as the hub for Gianluca Austin-Rizzo's wine business, the Rizzo Wine Club.
Gianluca Austin-Rizzo is the director of Rizzo Wine Club and manager at Benedictos. (Image: Benedictos) Mr Tilotta said: "We will open the coffee shop in the morning and the bar at night, and we hope it will offer an extra facility for our customers, so people can keep enjoying Benedictos.
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"Our dream is to have a proper Italian coffee shop.
"There is a lack of accommodation in Worcester, and a niche boutique hotel in Worcester was always something we wanted.
"We never liked the building from the side, so we can now have it looking amazing at every angle.
Inside Rizzo Wine Club tasting room on the second floor. (Image: Benedictos) "The last couple of years, with the success of our wine event, we want to do a wine bar.
"This will offer an extra service to our customers."
The Sidbury business bought a section of King Street Car Park from Worcester City Council to make way for the extension.
The extension will also house an extended kitchen area, an accessible toilet and four guest rooms on the first floor.
PLAN: An artist's impression of the proposed extension at Benedictos in Sidbury, Worcester (Image: Lett + Sweetland Architects) Two parking spaces will be permanently lost and ticket machines and signs will need to be relocated.
The new wine bar will be an extension of the popular Rizzo Wine Club, offering wines that are not often seen in the city.
Mr Austin-Rizzo, director of the Rizzo Wine Club and manager at Benedictos, said his club is currently run from a wine tasting room on the second floor of the restaurant.
Within two years, the wine club has grown to have 600 members.
