The Mozzarella & Thyme

The empty plot halfway down the busy avenue of Cedar Street had always been just that: empty, for months, perhaps years. The villagers were used to seeing it unoccupied as they passed by on their way to the General Store or the Toy Shop, or to the Farmers' Market every Saturday morning. 

So you could imagine their surprise when the plot was cleared, a red brick building erected, and a sign attached to its wall.

Nobody knew anything of it, nor did they know much about the new, strange family that had arrived in Bluebell Oaks a few weeks earlier and spoke in unusual, beautiful accents. 

Village gossip circulated abundantly, especially at the Watermill Bakery, where Christopher Appleblossom was known to be forthcoming and chatty in his conversations with customers.

Many speculated the new cats were responsible for opening a restaurant of some sort.

"Of course they're opening a restaurant," Christopher told his customers cheerily. "They dropped in the other day to ask where I get my flour delivery." Christopher had given them the address of the Thistlethorns at the Mill, but not without getting acquainted with the new cats. He knew they had come from afar to start their new restaurant, and he had promised that he and his wife would be the first customers. 

One more thing he knew: the new restaurant was going to be a pizzeria.

~~~~~~~~

On the opening night of The Mozzarella & Thyme, Monica Mozzarella was humming quietly to herself - a self soothing habit she'd possessed since childhood - as she did some last minute tidying of the counter.

She couldn't deny it. She was nervous. Her husband Matteo was the ever-calm one, always whistling cheerily as he cooked and worked.

Their daughter, Bianca, and baby ChiChi were setting the finishing touches on the tables and adjusting the chairs.

ChiChi turned on their radio. The sounds of soft and relaxing music filled the air.

Lui and baby Pino made sure the bike was ready to zip off on deliveries. 

At last everything was ready. Almost. 

"Bring out the sign, will you, my love?" Monica asked Bianca.

They stood back to admire. It had been a leap of faith moving to Bluebell Oaks. After many years spent waitressing and working in the kitchens of other restaurants, Matteo and Monica had always dreamed of owning one of their own. And finally, after years of hoping, planning and building, The Mozzarella & Thyme was ready for opening. 

Monica cast a glance over her family. 

She reached up to adjust her husband's tie. "There." 

Five-thirty ticked by, then five-forty five, then six o'clock. The Mozzarellas watched anxiously. 

"Where do you suppose everyone is?" Monica fretted. The thought of their hardwork - and their children's - seeing no fruition was crushing. 

"They probably don't know that we are open, dearest." Matteo assured her. "Why don't we start cooking, put a pizza in the oven, send out some enticing smells to let the village know we are ready for business? Hey?" He coaxed a smile from her, and Monica turned to the kitchen to begin pizza preparation.

Her paws fell into a familiar, soothing rhythm as she mixed, kneaded and rolled the dough. She had been making pizza for as long as she could remember and she was quick at the task. 

Matteo lit the fire in the oven ready for cooking the pizza's soft base. 

And very soon, he was drawing their first pizza out of the oven.

It seemed Matteo was right, too; as the appetising smells began to waft around the restaurant and out onto the street, they were greeted by the comforting sight of their very first customers.

"Mr and Mrs Appleblossom! What a pleasure to see you. Welcome to The Mozarella & Thyme." Her voice was full of relief. "Bianca will show you too your seats."

"We could hardly go back on a promise, could we?" Christopher smiled and followed Bianca to their table.

She showed them their menus and offered them a selection of drinks. Christopher noted how wonderful the restaurant smelled and Jane exclaimed over the flowers on the table, the relaxing background music, and how extensive the menu looked. 

Just then, the phone rang for the first time. 

"Good evening, you're calling The Mozarella & Thyme - how may I help you?"

It was Mr Bramble, ringing from his living room. 

"Good evening - may I place an order?" 

It was his designated 'dinner night' and he had been anticipating the opening of The Mozzarella & Thyme for some time now, ever since the flyer had appeared in his letterbox, looking forward to the day when he once weekly cooking duty would simply involve making a phone call. In truth, he hadn't run the idea past Mrs Bramble, but he knew the children would welcome takeaways for dinner.

"Of course, sir, what would you like? We have a wide range of toppings..." Monica readied her pencil. 

Once she had taken down his order and address, she called to Lui.

"We have our first delivery order."

Meanwhile, the Appleblossoms' order had just come out of the oven. Bianca set it on one of their wooden boards and sliced it carefully, before carrying it to their table. 

"Your pizza, Mr and Mrs Appleblossom."

After much deliberation, they had ordered a mozzarella and thyme pizza with a dash of tomato, because Bianca had recommended it as the classic pizza. Neither Christopher or Jane had tasted authentic pizza before and they weren't disappointed.

The Bramble order had been cooked and packaged. Lui helped his mother slide the boxes into the back of the delivery trike.

"Do be careful, Lui." She fretted. "Not too fast down those straights. And make sure Pino wears his helmet."

"I will, Mama." He kissed her cheek and tried not to appear too excited. The delivery system almost hadn't been a thing. Monica had been too apprehensive about Lui driving the bike, but in the end, he had insisted that every good takeaway had a delivery option. 

Monica waved them off, and as soon as they were out of Cedar Street, Lui gassed it and then they were zipping down country lanes to the Bramble's cottage. 

The Appleblossoms had finished their meal and reluctantly stood up from their table. 

"We'll be back very soon!" They enthused as they waved goodbye.

No sooner had the Appleblossoms left that they received their next customers. Monica went to greet the couple.

"Welcome to The Mozzarella & Thyme! My name is Monica. I don't believe we've met before." Owning a restaurant was certainly a very good way to get acquainted with the villagers.

"Oh, we're new to the village as well." The rabbits shyly introduced themselves as Clover and Herb Flora. Monica smiled and cooed over their tiny babies. 

"This is Pipkin, Pansy and Peony." Clover said.

Monica helped them to get seated and position the pram next to their table, and went to get them some drinks.

By that time, it appeared word had gotten out about the pizzeria opening. Bianca was busily helping their next customers, Flossy and Dolly Woolvale.

"We're having a girl's night, aren't we, Floss?" Mrs Woolvale said.

From then on, the rest of the evening was a flurry of greeting customers, taking orders, answering the phone, making pizzas, and packaging orders.

Perhaps the most unexpected and exciting of all for the Mozzarellas was the visit of Mayor Charcoal Whiskers and his wife, Freesia. Monica hadn't noticed them at first, being new to who-was-who in the village, but Matteo nudged her with a floury paw and tipped her off. 

"It all looks very extensive, doesn't it, flower?" Mayor Whiskers said, studying the menu.

"Yes, I've never seen such a variety of toppings to choose from. I don't know how I shall ever choose!"

In the end, they ordered a parsley, cheddar, and roasted capsicum pizza to share, watching Matteo work with the pizza oven as they waited. 

As well as their food, they also ordered a bottle of wine.

Matteo ratted about in the drinks shelf where he kept the alcoholic drinks and drew out the bottle. 

He set down two glasses next to their fresh pizza, still steaming from the oven, and uncapped the bottle, carefully pouring their drinks. He didn't get nervous like Monica but he felt a strong sense of wanting to prove his restaurant's finesse to the mayor and his wife.

Mayor Whiskers took the the opportunity to commend Matteo and his family on their work. 

"You've done a wonderful job here, Mr Mozzarella. The building is inviting, the service fantastic and the food smells delicious. We wish you every success in your business."

"I must add too that it's ever so sweet to see your children involved in the family business," Mrs Whiskers added.

Matteo thanked them both profusely. "I certainly hope everything will be to your liking, Mr Mayor, Mrs Whiskers." He nodded to them, then caught sight of the uncooked pizzas lined up on the bench, waiting for the oven. "If you'll excuse me..."

"Of course!" 

He left Mr and Mrs Whiskers to enjoy their food and drink as the chatter and the radio music filled the air, along with the sweet, toasty smell of fresh pizza. 

~~~~

Since that day, The Mozzarella & Thyme has seen big business every night. Weekends are particularly busy, of course, but each evening is still a hive of activity. The family has settled into their roles very well, each making the pizzeria run like clockwork. 

Their customers range from couples and families...

To children picking up a snack after school.

The table by the oven is the most sought after place to sit. 

Situated next to the low wall overlooking the woodland, from there, diners can also watch Matteo perform his magic in the pizza oven. There aren't many restaurants that have an open plan design and it seems that watching the creation of one's food is very appealing. Matteo wields the paddle with such expertise one can't help but stare.

Some days they can't make pizzas quick enough.

Bianca thinks she could roll a pizza and cut it with her eyes closed.

About half of their business comes from pick ups and delivery orders.

Lui and Pino zip all around the village on the bike, though Monica still can't help worry a little everytime they disappear down the road. 

Only once did Lui get a warning from the village constable and a suggestion that he might take the woodland corners a little slower, and he never told his Mama about that. Needless to say, he heeded the warning.

Mr Bramble has ordered several times since that first night - always on the evenings when he is on dinner duty.

The Mozzarella & Thyme has proved to be a bustling, popular pizzeria. 

They clean up every night, tired, but satisfied. 

The restaurant has allowed them to make lots of new friends and to build connections with the other businesses in the village. The Thistlethorns at the Mill send a load of flour every fortnight, and Bob Blackberry sells them fresh vegetables. They also visit Cedric Walnut regularly at the Village Store to buy cheeses, drinks and have an order of exotic foods like olives, capsicums and spices that they need. 

At the end of every evening, Matteo and Monica thank their children and each other for their work. 

Thanks for reading!

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This is a project that has been in the works for about a year. I first bought the Pizzeria set about 12-13 years ago, and in most of that time it sat gathering dust and generally going unused. But last year I decided my village needed a proper restaurant - and what better than to use the pizzaria set? 

The building itself I made of polystyrene and cut the brick design into it. The tables are made from corks and jar lids, and the chairs from bamboo skewers and popsicle sticks. The cheese grater I made from foil the way Cutata once cleverly showed on her blog (thanks Cutata!) 

I think my favourite thing I made is the little radio. A piece of polystyrene, strip of fabric and a pin can come in very handy!

I'm very happy with the way everything turned out and hope you enjoyed this post. The Mozzarellas are certainly very happy to have a restaurant of their own! :D