New Blackpool restaurant grabs pizza the action

Nico Stefani, 27, has launched his new pizzeria in Cedar Square following in the footsteps of his family who ran a pizza parlour on Blackpool’s Promenade 15 years ago.

Stefani’s Pizzeria will offer a range of pizzas cooked in a super-hot traditional wood-fired oven in his 26-seater premises or as takeaways.

Blackpool Council’s business support service ‘Get Started’ helped Nico on his journey to launching his new venture and bosses hthere said they were delighted that another new business is establishing itself in the town.

Nico explained: “I have had several jobs in the past from building work and gardening to marketing and recruitment.

“However, I wanted to turn something that I have always loved doing into a career.

“I remember with great fondness the family business on the Promenade. When I was younger I would spend time there enjoying the atmosphere and helping when I could. My grandad and grandma used to love teaching me to cook.

“This is where my inspiration came from and I started to research how I could open the best pizzeria in town.”

His research took him to Napoli in Italy where he tested lots of different pizza styles, flavours and toppings and even persuaded a pizzeria to let him cook in their kitchen.

Nico added: “I got a lot of help from Blackpool Council’s Get Started team and The Prince’s Trust. Amazingly all the support that I was given was free.

“There have been a few challenges along the way. Writing a business plan was a little more difficult as I have dyslexia. Sometimes that means I struggle to put into words the ideas in my mind but the help I got from the business team has been great.”

Coun Mark Smith, cabinet member for regeneration, enterprise and economic development, said: “It is fantastic to see someone turn their passion into a new career path. I am delighted that Blackpool Council’s Get Started team was able to help him along.”