Bella Pasta / Bella Italia in Stafford to close

[Tants]

Not sad to see it go but very sad we could have yet another empty unit on the high street!!

 

[Moby Dick]

I came here in late '74 and don't remember ever seeing Bratt & Dyke's there - I am quietly confident that it was Court's between their time and the arrival of McDonalds, before they moved to the corner of Eastgate and Malt Mill Lane..

..though, I can find no evidence on-line..

I believe it was Bratt and Dykes, one of the original owners are still with us and living in Hyde lea I think. McDonald's was Cantors furniture shop prior to Maccys taking over. Courts was Ravenscrofts in Eastgate Street before they moved in. Not sure where they were before that if at all?

Dixons was where Rymans was and spent many a happy minutes in there as a younger chap...

 

[Gramaisc]

I believe it was Bratt and Dykes, one of the original owners are still with us and living in Hyde lea I think. McDonald's was Cantors furniture shop prior to Maccys taking over. Courts was Ravenscrofts in Eastgate Street before they moved in. Not sure where they were before that if at all?

Dixons was where Rymans was and spent many a happy minutes in there as a younger chap...

Bratt & Dyke's most certainly was there, after Brookfield's, but I believe that it had gone by the time I was around...

Cantor's is right - furniture shops beginning with C...

The Co-op had Court's place in Eastgate Street after they went from there..

This says Bratt & Dyke's went in the "early 1970s" - http://www.staffordshirenewsletter....imes-Gone-By-A-Corner-of-History-25042013.htm - to be replaced by Cantor's until McDonalds happened in 1981 - along with the Yorkshire Bank next door.

 

[Moby Dick]

I worked at the co op furniture dept 1980-86 in Eastgate street then Main Street when closed. One of the Ravenscrofts was my colleagues and don't remember him saying the co op building used to be his families place then they moved across to what is the Spar shop and flat complex now.

Stand to be corrected...

 

[Sir BoD]

I came here in late '74 and don't remember ever seeing Bratt & Dyke's there - I am quietly confident that it was Court's between their time and the arrival of McDonalds, before they moved to the corner of Eastgate and Malt Mill Lane..

..though, I can find no evidence on-line..

Judging by the piece below, I think we can say that we're both half right, although it wasn't Courts but Cantors Furniture store.
http://www.staffordshirenewsletter....imes-Gone-By-A-Corner-of-History-25042013.htm

 

[Sir BoD]

Aaarrgghh, beaten to it.

 

[ATJ]

Not sad to see the back of Bella Italia, as service always took forever and a day. Would be sad to see an empty stall and the loss of a 'oh I’m sure it'll be fine as a last resort it's a chain after all' type place in the town centre.

Perhaps some sort of Tapas chain or American steak house with extensive cocktail list would be a nice replacement...

 

[Darren]

It is sad times for Stafford town these days if you think back to even the 80s when you had the bus stop in market square and a great variety of shops, and you think of what it is like now it makes me very sad.

 

[proactive]

if you think back to even the 80s when you had the bus stop in market square and a great variety of shops

Surely the pedestrianisation of the town centre has been a positive thing? It used to be really hateful with all that traffic and associated fumes coming through the high street. Just wish some of the cyclists that blast down there would have a little more consideration.

 

[Darren]

Surely the pedestrianisation of the town centre has been a positive thing? It used to be really hateful with all that traffic and associated fumes coming through the high street. Just wish some of the cyclists that blast down there would have a little more consideration.

Maybe it is my age but the old bus station was a meeting point and a place to hang when i was a young kid, i remember going to town as being a thing to look forward to even with no money. I spent hours in WHSmiths programing a space invader game into the old ZX81

 

[Admin]

I have amended the thread title to show that this is regarding the closure of Bella Italia, to differentiate it from the original Bella Italia thread.

Thanks.

 

[Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt]

I have never eaten here but it is closing down on the 30th of June.

Shame to see yet another empty unit but not at all suprising - ate there once and never went back. Food tasted like microwaved plastic and the service was woeful. The Bella Pasta Chain is nothing more than Little Chef but with candles on the tables.

With the new Riverside development in the offing nearby then it might make a good business as a new cafe / restaurant but the problem is competition for this in the town is pretty large and so it would need to seriously up its game.

 

[proactive]

Maybe a genuinely auththentic Italian restaurant would do well there.

 

[tek-monkey]

I think vivere have enough custom, and much cheaper rent/rates, so they'd not move.

 

[Sir BoD]

I worked at the co op furniture dept 1980-86 in Eastgate street then Main Street when closed. One of the Ravenscrofts was my colleagues and don't remember him saying the co op building used to be his families place then they moved across to what is the Spar shop and flat complex now.

Stand to be corrected...

Because I'm a saddo and all that, I took time out in my dinner break to look in Stafford Library. There was a publication (I did take a photo of the cover to remind me but my phone is being an arse and hadn't saved it) but it did mention that Ravenscroft House Furnishings had been on the corner but not long later after that it was taken over by Courts.

The only mention of a Co-op near there was on the opposite corner leading to towards the Vine, which was once Network Clothing. It did mention it started out as a bank but inferred that it may have had a few other strings to its bow in more recent times.

If I'm feeling just as sad as typing this out at gone midnight tomorrow, I'll have another mosey and se what it says again.

 

[Moby Dick]

Because I'm a saddo and all that, I took time out in my dinner break to look in Stafford Library. There was a publication (I did take a photo of the cover to remind me but my phone is being an arse and hadn't saved it) but it did mention that Ravenscroft House Furnishings had been on the corner but not long later after that it was taken over by Courts.

The only mention of a Co-op near there was on the opposite corner leading to towards the Vine, which was once Network Clothing. It did mention it started out as a bank but inferred that it may have had a few other strings to its bow in more recent times.

If I'm feeling just as sad as typing this out at gone midnight tomorrow, I'll have another mosey and se what it says again.

It was indeed a bank too. The Stafford and Stone co op offices and the co op Handybank as it was called was on the top floor, it provided financial support to the vast co op network at the time but also simple banking tasks for the public, ie, cashing co op cheques, paying milk bill, dividend account stuff etc...

The co op furnishing was there for quite a while and closed up to go into the newly refurbished main store in about 1984. The store then stood empty for ages, the bank had moved also then it was converted into smaller shops as we know then now. It was then taken over by East Midlands Co operative Society which meant it did not need the Storage areas for stock as they had a large warehouse in Derby so the co op started to downsize.Don't know what happened to the basement which used to be a showroom and the upper floor where the bank was was taken over by i think a vocational training organisation.

There are many folk around the town who could give much older history I'm sure....

 

[Trumpet]

Maybe a genuinely auththentic Italian restaurant would do well there.

Had exactly the same conversation with a couple of guys in Eccleshall last night.
An Italian restaurant actually run by Italians.

 

[Darren]

I also remember Prestos supermarket it was were Capital Appliances is now, Tescos i think was were Superdrugs is now and Tescos also had a separate cloths shop which was were Ethel Austins used to be opposite the library.

 

[Sir BoD]

Maybe it is my age but the old bus station was a meeting point and a place to hang when i was a young kid, i remember going to town as being a thing to look forward to even with no money. I spent hours in WHSmiths programing a space invader game into the old ZX81

Programming!!?? I only got as far as inputting

10 Print "Trevor is a wan*er!"
20 Goto 10

 

[Sir BoD]

It was indeed a bank too. The Stafford and Stone co op offices and the co op Handybank as it was called was on the top floor, it provided financial support to the vast co op network at the time but also simple banking tasks for the public, ie, cashing co op cheques, paying milk bill, dividend account stuff etc...

The co op furnishing was there for quite a while and closed up to go into the newly refurbished main store in about 1984. The store then stood empty for ages, the bank had moved also then it was converted into smaller shops as we know then now. It was then taken over by East Midlands Co operative Society which meant it did not need the Storage areas for stock as they had a large warehouse in Derby so the co op started to downsize.Don't know what happened to the basement which used to be a showroom and the upper floor where the bank was was taken over by i think a vocational training organisation.

There are many folk around the town who could give much older history I'm sure....

No, no, I'm very interested in the more recent history. The thing is, it's sometimes harder to recall things that happened in the contemporary past compared with what happened further into your past.

I was most certainly hanging around town circa 1984 onwards but I cannot for the life of me remember anything other than how the shops are set up today, albeit with different trades. As I say, I remember Network Clothing there, but I also remember Halpins(??) also being along that row too. I question mark Halpins as I also remember it being next to Wagstaffs Sports shop where Home Bargains is now too.