United keeper Nick Pope seen at Newcastle’s ‘newest’ Italian as famous restaurant taken over

United goalkeeper Nick Pope delighted staff at a newly relaunched Italian restaurant on the outskirts of Newcastle

Newcastle United keeper Nick Pope at Florence in Gosforth(Image: Instagram/Florence)

Staff at a Newcastle’s ‘newest’ Italian restaurant had a star customer to serve this week, when United goalkeeper Nick Pope headed for a meal there. And he is among the first customers to walk through the door at the newly relaunched venue in Gosforth, after a change of ownership.

At the start of this month, ChronicleLive reported that much loved Gosforth High Street Italian spot Novellos was set to change its name, after a statement appeared on Instagram to reveal that different owners had taken charge of the restaurant. The change in personnel has seen the team responsible for the hugely successful Florence in Jesmond take the reins and the Jesmond haunt is now no longer the only one of that name in the area, as Novellos has now too become Florence.

After the Novellos team confirmed their departure in early January, the Florence owners took to the newly rebranded Instagram page a few days later to announce they were ‘proud’ to continue the journey of the much loved Novellos, with their statement added: ‘The restaurant may have a new name, but the passion continues for great-tasting, high-quality food served in a warm, welcoming atmosphere by a friendly, professional team that makes everyone feel at home.’

And in a week that’s brought some mixed emotions for shit stopper Nick and his United teammates, with the frustrations of their 0-0 bore draw against Wolves on Sunday giving way to delight under the lights at St James’ Park on Wednesday, as they beat PSV 3-0 in the Champions League, Florence were delighted to have him in for a meal at the Gosforth restaurant.

Sharing a photo of him with a member of staff, they wrote: ‘We had the absolute pleasure of welcoming Nick Pope to our restaurant.Thank you for stopping by and sharing a moment with our team. Moments like these remind us why we love what we do. Best of luck for the rest of the season, we’ll be cheering you on!’

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