End of an era for Bottega Rotolo
Adelaide high-end European food store Bottega Rotolo has been sold to a new owner as its founder Rosalie Rotolo-Hassan moves on after more than two decades in the business.
Inside the Bottega Rotolo King William Road store.
The King William Road shop in Hyde Park has become a staple for Adelaide foodies with its array of Italian and European fine foods, smallgoods, cheeses, and wine following a business tradition with roots in Norwood.
The business has been sold to Andrea Ramon who will run the business with his wife after moving to Adelaide from Milan about 12 years ago.
“It was a good fit because they appreciate the quality of food and the relationships that our business is built on with both customers and suppliers,” Rotolo-Hassan said.
“It was really important for me to find a buyer who understood that and would continue trading as Bottega Rotolo rather than just absorbing our customers and our brands into another company.”
Rotolo-Hassan is optimistic about the future of the business but acknowledges that her absence will be felt by the community.
She said she would now spend more time with her elderly parents and take a break after starting the business as a 19-year old in the late 1990s.
“I feel very lucky to have played a part in enriching the food experience for so many Australians,” she said.
Rotolo-Hassan is the daughter of Italian immigrants who inherited her parents’ love of food and know-how from working at their iconic store in the Adelaide central market, Athens Gourmet Food.
Soon after her parents sold The Athens in 1995, Rotolo-Hassan founded Bottega Rotolo, a business which moved quickly from premises on The Parade West at Kent Town to its Norwood home of 20 years on Osmond Terrace where it operated its wholesale and retail business, and her mother Connie joined her in popular cooking classes.
“It was critical for me that we stocked exceptional goods that represented the true culture and history of their origin,” said Rotolo-Hassan.
The Bottega Rotolo Hyde Park shopfront.
Bottega Rotolo also has a wholesale arm that imports and distributes goods to chefs and providores.
Success in national and speciality retail distribution prompted Bottega Rotolo to move out of Norwood and establish a purpose-built facility in Mile End in 2014 following a contract with Qantas for its Business and First Class cheese requirements.
At the same time, it set about opening a new retail store with a walk-through cheese room on King William Road.
