Mike Thalassitis’ restaurant will open this week, his business partner has confirmed.
The ‘Love Island’ star had been working on The Skillet with Scott Neilson before he took his own life last month and now his business partner has confirmed the eatery will open in Loughton, Essex, on Saturday (27.04.19) in his honour.
Scott shared a photo of them together on Instagram and wrote:
“Brother we done it… could never of done this without you.”
And he also shared details of the opening event and revealed profits from drinks would be donated to a mental health charity in honour of his pal.
He wrote:
“On Saturday 27th April, The Skillet will be opening its doors to welcome the public from 8am-5pm, in honour of Mike Thalassitis.
“The modern brunch eatery will specialise in skillet breakfasts, from the traditional Full English to Classic American Buttermilk Pancakes and Mike’s very own favourite, Poutine Breakfast.
“In special tribute to Mike, all drink proceeds over launch weekend will be donated to the mental health charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) to build awareness of depression in young men and develop practical resources to support those suffering.
“Mike worked extremely hard on this launch.
“He was passionate about cooking and it was his dream to one day open a restaurant.
“Together, we have created a first-rate breakfast bar we hope you will enjoy and we invite you all to come down and celebrate his love of good food. Look forward to seeing you all there!”
Mike’s friend, fellow ‘Love Island’ star Montana Brown, has promised to attend the launch.
She wrote on Instagram:
“Mike worked so hard on The Skillet and he put his heart and soul into it and it really was his little project that he adored and he loves cooking.”
Scott confirmed shortly after Mike’s death that he would still be opening the doors of The Skillet because he felt it was what his friend would have wanted.
A statement on the restaurant’s Instagram account read:
“Just to address all the speculation. I would like to make it clear that we will be opening The Skillet when it is ready, it has been a tough week trying to continue to sort things out.
“However, Mike would’ve wanted this cafe to open, he spent everyday for the past couple of months working hard to make this place a success so we are pulling together to get this ready for everyone and especially for Mike.
“Can’t wait to share it with you all, and I will announce the date of the opening shortly.”