Lothian Road next stop for restaurateur behind Edinburgh's Ting Thai Caravan

Lia Gill, who has lovingly headed-up Coletti & Co for five years, stepped down on Friday hinting that a new eatery will replace it in a "few months".

The unit, at number 55, has now been bought by Malcolm Innes, the restaurateur behind Ting Thai Caravan on Teviot Place and sister restaurant Saboteur.

An application has also been submitted to Edinburgh Council's planning department by Ting Thai Limited, for changes to 57 Lothian Road, next door to Coletti & Co.

The request, which has been granted, asked for planning permission to change the use of the former Fresh Cut sandwich shop from hot food takeaway to 'class 3' - restaurants and cafes.

Edinburgh Council also gave the green light for a liquor licence.

Coletti & Co's Lia posted en emotional farewell on Facebook: "Firstly a huge thank you to all our lovely, lovely customers who has supported us at Coletti & Co for the past 5 years.

"The business has been sold and I’m retiring. We served our last lunch on Friday 31st May. A new business will spring up in a few months.

"I’m taking this opportunity to say a huge thank you to the people who have helped make my little cafe a super place to work..... you know who you are. You’ve all been amazing and a pleasure to know. It’s been hard work and a lot of fun."

Ting and Ae Tapparat are the creative force at Ting Thai Caravan.

They first fired up their woks at the Edinburgh Festival in 2012 offering authentic Thai street food to the festival masses.

Soon after they secured a small restaurant in the University quarter and with their family of Thai chefs they have been serving up their dishes ever since.

With the demand for south east Asian street food in Edinburgh being so great, they have now opened a second restaurant and bar, also on Teviot Place offering Vietnamese and south east Asian dishes. Called Saboteur, the restaurant opened in September 2017.

Tony Spence, Business Agent at Christie & Co’s Edinburgh office who handled the sale, said: “A great business in a prominent location within Edinburgh city centre, Coletti & Co generated a huge amount of interest from the outset, which continued until we achieved a successful sale.

“Demand within Edinburgh remains high for similar licensed restaurants as the city continues to grow with a high quality food, drink and leisure circuit.”

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