After seeing La Sicilyana Wines and bistro go from strength to strength for six years, Laura Raimondi and Steven Dalton had to start this year from scratch.
Their successful Scone bistro, which opened in April 2019, was ruined by a burst pipe flooding the venue ahead of Christmas last year.
Five months later, the stripping out of the venue has just started and refurbishments can only begin once the building is completely dry.
“Essentially, we’re starting again from scratch,” says Steven.
“The process is painful, frustrating and very slow. After taking the damaged items out, the structural work can begin, then there’s the reinstatement.
“But the reinstatement can’t happen until the building is dried, such was the damage that I don’t think there’s one part of it that’s not affected.
“It’s just like we did the first time, a complete renovation to the brick walls.”
While Steven has been fighting for the bistro, his wife and native Sicilian Laura shifted her focus to the couple’s first business, La Sicilyana Wines.
She says: “It started as a hobby, then the bistro came, so there was a complete stop.
“As the bistro is not there at the moment, the most natural thing was to go back to our origins.”
Perth wedding inspires La Sicilyana Wines
Picture the scene, back in July 2015, at Ballathie House Hotel on the banks of the River Tay, Steven and Laura are preparing for their wedding.
It’s a stunning location, big enough to house her family coming over from Sicily and his Scottish friends and family.
But, the wine list wasn’t quite what they had in mind. The wines were good, but the only Italian was a Pinot Grigio, and that wasn’t enough.
Laura’s brother gifted them Sicilian wine for the wedding instead, shipping several boxes over from a winery not sold in the UK. It went down a treat.
“Everyone was happy, drinking, then ‘woah, that’s good, what’s that?’,” recalls Laura.
“They took photos of the label and googled where to find it, but it’s not here. Then the idea was born.”
As sourcing wine on Sicily while living in Scone was a challenge, Laura called in her family to help, with her sommelier sister in the lead.
The wine expert says Sicily is the fourth largest Italian wine producing region, ahead of popular Tuscany. As the island is largely organic, most grapes are grown without pesticides.
After the wedding, the couple also realised only 3% of Sicily’s wine production is sold in the UK. They wanted to change that by bringing the unknown wineries to Scotland.
Laura says: “The wine venture is more than a business, it is an act of love to my island and recognition of Sicilian winemakers’ hard work.
“We drink these wines and choose them with my family – obviously over volcanic debates for each wine.
“There’s this big family gathering and my sister-in-law cooks, pairing the menu with the wines.”
Community spirit keeps business going
La Sicilyana Wines started taking off in 2016, with Laura hosting wine tastings at friends’ houses as well as selling online.
Slowly, but surely, the business grew and the wine merchants saw the need for a venue to host the tastings.
The village bank was up for sale after closing, which proved the perfect spot for a wee Italian bistro.
Steve says: “Laura is very passionate about Italian cooking, so we thought let’s bring that to Scone.
“When we were in Sicily, we loved the lifestyle, the cooking, the drinks – I couldn’t do anything about the scenery, unfortunately – but at least when people walk into the bistro we can make them feel like they’re in Sicily.”
Offering authentic Italian pizza, pasta, paninis and more, La Sicilyana quickly became a town favourite.
One regular even admitted to Steven they didn’t think the concept would work when it opened, but they started visiting every day.
The couple believe the community spirit they’ve built around La Sicilyana is the reason they survived lockdown – and will survive the current temporary closure.
“The amount of affection has been touching, when we go for a walk in the village people ask how it’s going and when we’ll open. We’ve had flowers, cards and hugs too,” says Laura.
Steven adds: “It reminded me of that community spirit we saw during Covid. That’s been our saving grace.
“Had we been in a town centre or city, I think we would have been lost with everyone else.
“But because we’ve connected with the local villagers, that’s had a huge impact.”
La Sicilyana reopening plans
While Laura originally wanted a space to host tastings, the bistro became so busy she only had time to do three a year.
She has now re-launched her tastings, traveling to corporate events, clubs and parties with her Sicilian wines.
“It’s a bit of déjà vu, and that’s weird. But thanks to the bistro giving us a strong reputation, the wine is consolidated,” she says.
“We didn’t do business to business before, but I’ve been approached by a golf club, some Perth boutiques and a glamping resort.
“I really believe in the wine, I feel like we can grow massively.”
The couple have been searching for alternative premises, both for wine tastings and the bistro, but have so far had no luck.
As many available venues need to be refurbished before they can temporarily move in, they are focusing their energy on progressing the bistro renovations and growing wine sales.
Steven estimates that La Sicilyana could be open again for Christmas – a whole year after the flooding.
He admits it’s a struggle, but they are trying to stay positive.
Laura says: “We are working 24/7 with the wines while the bistro is coming back together.
“We’re pushing for major growth, and that’s what we do every day when the sun rises.”
Conversation