Aldo will do it his way as building comes down in heart of Falkirk
Graham Dunlop, Lloyds TSB Scotland relationship manager, Aldo Pia and Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson at the site
A LANDMARK building in the heart of Falkirk will soon make way for a family-run Italian restaurant.
The premises in Manor Street have previously been a chippy and Chinese restaurant but now property owner Aldo Pia has decided to revamp the site.
He already owns Alloa’s thriving Bar Aldo’s and plans to run Amode Mie, which means My Way, with his wife Florinda and two grown up children.
With capacity for up to 100 covers per night, the family expect to hire 12 staff to help run the restaurant and are aiming for a turnover of around £500,000.
The expansion is backed by a £440,000 loan from Lloyds TSB Scotland.
Aldo also owns a number of properties and takeaways in the region and, following the success of Bar Aldo’s in such a short time, decided to turn one of his empty properties in Falkirk into a restaurant with a similar formula.
The funding provided by the bank will be used to demolish the existing Manor Street property and construct a purpose-built building for Amode Mie.
Aldo said: “Bar Aldo’s has been more successful than we ever imagined, so when one of our Falkirk properties became empty and stopped generating income, we realised it presented a great opportunity to invest in and expand our restaurant business.
“My wife and I want to ensure the business is in a strong enough position to provide a good income for my three children when we chose to hand over the reins and retire. That’s why it is crucial to develop a second restaurant and keep taking the business forward. After my father moved to Edinburgh in the 1960s from Southern Italy he ran his own takeaway restaurant which he passed down to me and I want to be able to do the same for my children.”
Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson welcomed the latest addition to the town. After visiting the sit, he said: “This will not only bring a new dining experience to the town, it will also create some new employment opportunities in the town.”
Graham Dunlop, relationship director for Lloyds TSB Scotland, said: “Aldo and his family have shown that by getting the basics right and by working hard it’s possible to grow a business at any point in the economic cycle.
“If we’re to play our part in driving the economic recovery then it’s important we support local entrepreneurs like Aldo, and continue to build deep connections into the business communities across the country.”
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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