Anna Mazoni at the Parkway Delicatessen

A TRADITIONAL Italian deli that has been a staple in the Parkway community for 50 years fears it may have to shut up shop as increased business rates put its future in doubt.

The Parkway Delicatessen was opened in 1975 by the Mazzoni family from Lugagano Val d’Arda near Milan.

Anna Mazzoni first came to the UK in 1957 helping her aunt to run an Italian restaurant in Hampstead Village before starting up another restaurant in Cowcross Street, Clerkenwell, with her brother.

It was a regular spot among Fleet Street journalists grabbing a bite to eat in the late evening after filing copy.

After being a restaurateur came to its natural end, Ms Mazzoni and her brother opened the deli in Parkway in 1975 with Safia Hasan, Ms Mazzoni’s sister-in-law taking over the business in 1990.

Ms Hasan said she now feels incredibly sad to have to think about closing the 50-year-old business because of extreme increases in business rates.

She said: “We have customers who come to visit the shop after having not been in Camden for many years. They are so glad we are still here and serving. I am the only small independent specialised shop remaining. Everything in Parkway has changed and there are too many chain shops to compete with.

“And then the council sent me a letter telling me my business rates have doubled from the year before. It’s an extreme amount of money. I just don’t know what to do, and I have to consider closing the shop.

“Not only will I feel sad but my customers will too. Any time I tell them that I’m going to close they plead with me not to go. They are very attached to the place. The government say they are helping small businesses – this is just not true, they are helping those big corporations and businesses.

“I don’t know what to do about this. The council doesn’t listen to my very real concerns and everything is online – it’s so hard to speak to an actual person. I feel unheard – my customers are very angry, upset and frustrated when they learn about my struggles and that not enough is being done for small businesses.”

The best place to buy pasta in Camden Town?

The deli serves every quintessential Italian product you may need: hand-cut salami and parmigiano, pasta and panettone.

Ms Hasan said: “We used to be the only place in the area that sold Italian products, it was a typical Italian shop.

“Now all the supermarkets have started selling things we sell – cakes and pasta – so it’s very hard to compete, particularly when their pasta is just 70p.

“New big supermarkets that move in, like the new Sainsbury’s venture on Parkway, make me very concerned about how the business will survive all the change.

“The people who will suffer most will be our customers, some of whom are in their 90s and still come every week to shop. I know them personally and they are very special to me.”

The government has not directly increased business rates across the board, but rateable values of properties were updated in the 2023 revaluation which raised business rates for many premises especially in areas where property values have risen.

The Parkway Delicatessen

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “Our high streets play an important role for communities throughout the borough and we are committed to seeing them thrive, especially when we know businesses across the country are facing very challenging times.

“While business rates are set by national government, we remain committed to using the powers that are available to us to provide business rate relief to small business and continue to push for business rate reforms as part of our drive to deliver an inclusive and mixed economy in Camden.”

The Department for Levelling Up said they do not comment on individual taxpayers.