A BUSINESS owner is set to close down a fresh food café next month once his lease on the building runs out.

Lee Pagliarini, 63, has run Café Bellissimo in Wimpole Road, Colchester, for six years having first opened the business in 2017.

The café, which sells high-end fresh food, will continue serving food until Friday, April 14, at which point Mr Pagliarini will start to wind down operations.

It will then serve coffee and drinks for one final week before closing down completely by Friday, April 21.

Read more:

• New Colchester café Roots and Grooves has cause for optimism

• Colchester Businesses closed and missed by residents

• Colchester independent business could win national award

When asked why the café was shutting down, Mr Pagliarini said he was preparing to retire before moving to returning to Italy.

He said: “The lease is up and I’m retiring – it’s time to go.

“People want to go to McDonald’s, but there won’t be other places that do stuff like this, I’ll tell you that.

“These lasagnes have got six meats and six different vegetables.

Gazette: Freshly made – all the food in Café Bellissimo is freshly prepared, as Mr Pagliarini points outFreshly made – all the food in Café Bellissimo is freshly prepared, as Mr Pagliarini points out (Image: Newsquest)

“There is no crap in place, never has been, never will be until the day I close the shop – after that, people can do what they want to.

“It’s cheaper to come and see me and eat properly rather than eat a takeaway – there is no argument.

“Say goodbye to fresh food.”

In 2021, as part of the Daily Gazette and Essex Weekly Newspapers Food and Drink Awards, Café Bellissimo won the award for the best European cuisine.

When speaking to the Gazette shortly after opening the café in 2018, Mr Pagliarini stressed the quality and authenticity of his food was paramount.

For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

He said: “I even cook the ham I put in the sandwiches myself and the breads are handmade by a local baker."

"There are no plastic tubs here – everything is bought fresh from local butchers or producers and I make everything from scratch apart from tinned tomatoes and baked beans.

“Opening something like this was always my plan and I had worked in hospitality on and off, although when my children were younger I also worked as a diamond cutter in Hatton Garden for a while – you do what you have to do."