An Italian restaurant that regards the Dorchester community as ‘family’ is this week’s Trader of the Week.

Basili.co in Trinity Street, Dorchester, was nominated for the honour after supporting over 75s in the county town throughout the coronavirus lockdown by providing them with free meals.

Run by Gennaro Marzano, Balislo.co is a favourite with Dorchester diners for its authentic wood fired Italian food and pizzas.

Gennaro said: “What sets Basili.co apart is that we’re truly Neapolitan.

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“Our aim is to provide great quality, authentic Italian food at sensible prices. We focus on the basics of the Italian ingredients choosing, the best hard grained flour, tomatoes, olive oil and parmesan cheese from the southern regions of Italy elevating the flavour with some fresh basil and garlic ripened under the warm sunshine of the seaside fields.

“This is the reason why Basili.co is genuinely different! Our promise to you is that “You will not find a more genuine Neapolitan experience outside Napoli!”

Gennaro says the dough used for its pizzas is the product of a long lasting family recipe, which he revisited and implemented by using a unique mix made from three different flours.”

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He said he feels ‘extremely honoured and thankful’ being nominated for Trader of the Week and he thinks customers keep coming back to the restaurant because they are ‘genuinely in love with what we do’.

“We treat them as part of our own family,” Gennaro said. “Plus, unless the quality of the food is 100 per cent we will not serve.”

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Gennaro recommends people try the restaurant’s specials: “We only use wood fired oven as unique meaning of cooking,” he said.

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Being a part of the Dorchester community is important to Gennaro.

He said: “During the pandemic, we have supported our over 75s providing free meal for two people twice a week in order to keep them safe.

“I would say quite frankly that Dorchester and his community are my family.”

Basilico is reopening on Wednesday, July 15. See https://www.basili.co.uk/ for more information.

n The Dorset Echo is backing local independent businesses as they get going again after the coronavirus crisis. We want to highlight the very important role they play in our community in this section of the Echo.

We want to hear from any other traders who feel they stand out from the crowd and should be Trader of the Week. Contact Joanna Davis at joanna.davis@dorsetecho.co.uk for a nomination form or access it here