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| The idea of Mitchelli's was inspired by Ewan Mitchell's love for Italian culture and things. In 2003 Ewan, his wife Liz and two daughters, Penny and Georgina, both of whom had extensive hospitality experience, decided to open an Italian styled delicatessen in Christchurch. The potential of the Poplar Lanes area had recently been rediscovered and Ash and Poplar Streets were in the early stages of being revitalised for the twenty-first century. The Mitchell’s immediately fell in love with the area and in particular an unlikely building on Ash Street. Mitchelli’s as we now know it was a tall and skinny shell of a building which would have been barely recognisable to those who frequent it today, but the Mitchell’s had a vision. |
In 2006, the Mitchell family, along with Penny’s partner, Cristian Del Valle, travelled to Italy to seek inspiration. Then in 2007 work on Mitchelli’s began in earnest. Ewan Mitchell with the help of his family and friends transformed the unlikely building into Mitchelli’s Deli and Cafe. On 1 March 2008, after much hard work Mitchelli’s opened its doors to the public with Georgina in the kitchen, Penny out the front, Cristian on the coffee machine, and Ewan and Liz behind the scenes. |
