The owner of Sidmouth's The Little Deli has opened a new shop in Exmouth.

Abas Muhedeen opened The Italian Store on Rolle Street, Exmouth on 1 June. It stocks a wide variety of imported Italian products, and offers hot drinks and sandwiches to eat in or take away. 

Mr Muhedeen said: "We provide all the speciality Italian cold meats, such as Parma ham, ordinary ham, all the salamis from different regions, and then we've got beautiful cheeses to complement them.

Cold meats, cheeses and pastries inside The Italian Store (Nub News, Will Goddard)

"We have lovely antipastis, amazing pastries, coffee, as well as all the essential ingredients, such as pastas, sauces, vinegars, olive oils ... some nice biscuits, chocolate.

"There's a place [inside the deli] where you can have a coffee, have a sandwich.

"We also do event platters for gatherings, parties, birthdays, weddings, all sorts."

The interior of The Italian Store (Nub News, Will Goddard)

Abas, who is Kurdish and originally from northern Iraq, lived in Italy when he was young and started working for an Italian man in a London deli when he was 16 years old.

He said: "He became like a second father to me and taught me everything that I know about life, about work, and all the experience I've gained over the years, which is a lot. 

"I work seven days a week now. I know it sounds crazy, but I love doing what I'm doing. In the last 18 years of doing this work, I haven't had a day where I didn't look forward to going to work. 

"It helps having a very supportive family, my wife is doing an amazing job looking after the kids and supporting me."

Mr Muhedeen opened his Sidmouth shop two years before the Exmouth deli in May 2020. He hopes to be able to stay trading in Exmouth for many years to come. 

He added: "I really am grateful for being here and the people have been amazing so far - the same in Sidmouth. We hope that we can get more involved in the local activities in the future.

"We're hoping to be here with everyone's support for many, many years."

You can find The Italian Store at 1 Rolle Street opposite the Strand, and here on Google Maps.