Staff at award-winning Clifton food shop Papadeli struggle to find enough space for the hundreds of delicious items it stocks these days but that wasn’t always the case, according to owner Catrin MacDonnell. The shop on Alma Road celebrates its 20th anniversary next month but when Catrin and chef husband Simon first opened its doors in June 2002, the shelves and fridges were a lot emptier.
Prior to opening their first business, Catrin had a job in marketing and Simon was a chef at Whiteladies Road restaurant Quartier Vert. The original idea was to open a gastropub but when they spotted an empty shop on Alma Road, they spotted an opportunity to open the sort of delicatessen they had seen on their travels on the continent.
“We didn’t really have an idea what we were doing,” laughs Catrin. “The day before opening when all the stock arrived, it barely filled two shelves.
