Non Solo Pasta to launch Italian restaurant in Stroud

Four years after serving Italian street food on a stall at Cirencester Farmer’s Market, husband and wife team Clara Cardillo and Matteo Conte’s Non Solo Pasta food business is set to launch its first restaurant in June.

The couple, who opened at the market in October 2018 to occupy themselves during Cardillo’s first maternity leave, discovered they had a business after making £500 in one day.

Now, they’re putting the finishing touches to their first restaurant, opening in Sandersons Boutique Store in Stroud.

The Non Solo Pasta counter in the Five Valley’s shopping centre’s food hall will remain, as will the farmer’s market stall and outlet in Charter Market, Cirencester, as the latest addition expands the couple’s empire.

‘The restaurant will be called Terra. When we started on the market and realised we had a business which could work, our dream has always been a restaurant,’ said Clara.

Terra, meaning earth, is a reference to the couple’s decision to celebrate the simple, fresh ingredients grown in the couple’s homeland of Italy.

Behind the scenes at Non Solo Pasta is Cardillo’s mother, Patrizia D’Onofrio, the source of many of the recipes that have created their hit food and her father Andrea Cardillo – who has spent his career in hospitality.

A liqueur made by Clara’s brother, who still lives in Italy, may also be introduced to the drinks menu at Terra, alongside Italy’s popular export of limoncello.

‘We have worked really hard on the menu since last year and we have some lovely ideas.

‘The menu will be our take on some traditional dishes and will also feature the arancini, which helped us launch and remains so popular for us,’ said Clara, a mother of two who also holds a Master of Business Administration degree.

Non Solo Pasta has grown 200 per cent in the last year. It is entirely self-funded and employs three members of staff. Credit for guiding the business has been paid to The Growth Hub and its advisors, including Peter Brown.

The county-wide business support network helped Non Solo Pasta secure a listing with the Mid Counties Cooperative and put it in touch with Cheltenham’s Hills Design, which devised the brand’s identity.

Non Solo Pasta arancini is also on sale at Gloucester Services on the M5.