Opening of Carpenter’s Arms Italian Kitchen, Walesby, sees rave reviews for service and Italian menu
A new restaurant has opened to rave reviews from customers for its service and exciting Italian menu, writes Will Hugall.
The Carpenter’s Arms Italian Kitchen, in Walesby, has been taken over by a three-person team of husband-and-wife John and Louise Boddie, and close friend Christian Colarietti.
With all three having many years of experience in the restaurant industry, they’ve overcome a tricky start to gather plenty of recent momentum.
John Boddie, who chefs alongside Christian, said: “The end of the first week, we were like ‘what have we done?’”
“Slowly, slowly, surely, word of mouth has just done wonders for us.
“Repeat trade is phenomenal. We’re getting some people eating here two or three times a week.”
Under its previous owners, the Carpenter’s Arms served a carvery menu two days a week, becoming a key part of the village community.
The new team had fears their menu wouldn’t take off, but have been taken aback by the positivity of feedback so far in the village.
For the new owners, who hail from Mansfield, Newark and Rome respectively, introducing an authentic Italian menu has been a labour of love, with each of them putting their heart into it.
“We grow most of the herbs ourselves and a lot of the speciality vegetables ourselves, so we don’t charge for that because it’s only time and effort really,” John said.
“My mum and dad grow it in our back gardens and we’ve got a little bit of land in Mansfield. It’s what they love doing in their retirement and we sit there at the beginning of the year, go through the seed catalogues and pick out what we want, what we think we can manage and what we can use.
“It’s a whole family project.”
