Pellizco: Boss comes 'full circle' with first restaurant in Sheffield square where he once had catering van

Danny Pinch is set to open Pellizco in the first week of December in Dyson Place, Sharrow Vale, where he began selling Mexican street food from a van in 2020. Today, the business operates from the Cutlery Works foodhall in Neepsend and The Boston Arms in Woodseats.

Along the way he has won Best Newcomer at the British Street Food Awards 2020 and Northern Champion Best Vegetarian Dish 2021.

His new premises became available following the closure of Vietnamese restaurant Năm Sông, due to the cost of living crisis. Announcing his move, Danny said Pellizco had ‘gone full circle’.

He added: “From trading down at Dyson Place as a means to get through that tough winter lockdown in 2020/21, we are so happy to be coming back as a permanent fixture, with real walls and everything! We will be taking over number 8 Dyson Place from Năm Sông who are sadly moving on.

“We cannot wait to get started and begin to reveal some of the dishes and beverages that we will be putting into our opening menu, we need to take a bit of time to get the unit ready but plan to be open the week commencing December 5, although keep your eyes peeled as you may find our little orange box serving up a taste of what’s to come very soon!

“Thanks to everyone who has helped us make this happen, the work starts now, I cannot wait to see old and new faces at our new home on Sharrow Vale.”

Danny fell into cooking as a part-time job to support his studies but as he progressed he dropped out of university to do it full time. He learned his trade in kitchens including the Double Tree at Sheffield Park Hotel before going solo.

He feared the first lockdown in March 2020 might kill the business after it ‘completely decimated' his calendar. But he persevered with a ‘reheat at home’ offering. In 2020 he told The Star Sheffield had been a great place to start-up.

“There was mentoring from people who understand the challenges. Test-trading at Union St and at Sheffield markets and events really helped us get off the ground. It gave us a route into trading at the busier food markets across the country,” he said.

But a fixed home was his dream. He said: “I really want to get into premises in Sheffield where we will be able to offer what we do now in a relaxed environment, develop the menus and really push our food to the next level.”

Năm Sông, which opened in 2020, blamed ‘recent cost pressures’ and ‘economic conditions’ for its decision to close. In a post on Facebook, the owners said: “We opened up our unit in Dyson Place following the first covid lockdown and we’ve had a great few years as part of the sunniest square in Sharrow Vale but recent cost pressures and economic conditions have meant we’ve had to take the decision to consolidate our Sheffield operations to just one site.”

They stressed their original branch in Broomhill remains open, as well as one in Leeds.

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