Caffe Tucci’s owners, Salvatore and Stefano Capasso, have joined forces with long-time friend and hospitality expert Hugo Sousa to create Assaje.
Assaje opened yesterday (16 October) just across the road from the Hallamshire Hospital and on the same stretch of street as their friends at Napoli Centro pizza shop. The Neapolitan brothers have named this new café Assaje, which in Neapolitan dialect means ‘a lot’.
“It really does mean a lot to us that you come,” says Stefano. “We were thinking about a name that is related to our culture, and we thought that we are always a lot. We are sometimes too much!”
“We had a very clear format in mind, which is ‘Build your own,’ so this is our new adventure.”
The menu allows you to indulge your creative side and make your own sandwiches, picking meats, cheeses and vegetables to go on their homemade Southern Italian focaccia, which is a thinner variation of what you may be used to from focaccia breads.
Build-your-own salads and desserts are also available, and they aim to make the menu inclusive by offering gluten-free options.
Stefano adds: “The menu is suitable for everyone. We’ll have alternative breads and a salad bar, with all the salads freshly made from the deli counter in the window.
“We’ll also have many things you associate with Caffe Tucci, like the Pistachio Latte and the Raffaello Latte, but it’s more of a combination with the food in this business, and I think of it more as a café bistro. We’ll also be selling wines, beers and Aperol Spritz, so it’s a bit more of a complete offering.
“We wanted to prove that it doesn’t matter if it’s Caffe Tucci, that we can do a beautiful format with a new partner that still delivers the same product, the same quality, and the same atmosphere.”
Their new third member, Hugo, has been friends with the brothers for several years and has many more years’ experience working in hospitality for the likes of Cubana Tapas Restaurant and Bar, and he will be the face of this venture as the brothers further expand their hospitality offering across the city.
“Hugo is the best person we could have opened a business with,” says Stefano. “We’re all very excited; stressed and nervous, but very excited. For me, a big opening is like a birthday party. You invite everyone, and you just wish everyone comes!”
Assaje is now open seven days a week from 8am – 5pm. For more info, head to their socials here.
