The Story of Pistachios in the Park

**What began as a small Greenwich delicatessen in 1983 would survive success, tragedy and reinvention to become something its founder, Aysin Djemil, could scarcely have imagined: a collection of park cafés built around a simple idea — that a café can help create a community.** The story of Pistachios in the Park does not begin in a park at all. It begins in 1983, at **115a Trafalgar Road in Greenwich**, where a young couple, Aysin and Sally Djemil, decided to take a chance on a small delicatessen. They lived in the flat above the shop and worked below. There were no investors, consultants or carefully prepared expansion plans. There was simply the determination to build something of their own. They called it **Pistachios Delicatessen**, after Aysin's favourite nut. Like many first-time business owners, they learned through experience. Fresh produce had a short life, margins were unforgiving and mistakes were expensive. But gradually, Sally and Aysin found their formula. Sally's cooking became an important part of the business. Homemade quiches and pies sat alongside samosas, böreks, coronation chicken and her garlic mayonnaise. Aysin began buying nuts, grains, cheeses, oils and speciality foods directly from importers, reducing waste and improving margins. More importantly, something was happening beyond the food. Customers became regulars. Regulars became friends. Pistachios was developing a personality. ## From delicatessen to café Success encouraged the couple to expand into central Greenwich, opening another delicatessen on Nelson Road. But the new customers wanted something different. Rather than stubbornly sticking to their original concept, Aysin and Sally changed it. The delicatessen became a café serving freshly prepared food and coffee. It proved transformative. At weekends, queues formed outside. A marquee at the back provided additional seating and became a popular Greenwich meeting place. The café attracted attention beyond the neighbourhood, including mentions in *Time Out* and *Cosmopolitan*. Its customers included familiar names such as John Cleese, Lenny Henry, Robbie Coltrane, Jennifer Saunders and alternative comedian Malcolm Hardee. Celebrity, however, was never really the point. The philosophy was remarkably straightforward: whoever walked through the door should receive the same food and the same welcome. It was also a lesson that would influence everything Pistachios later became — **listen to the people using the business rather than assuming you already know what they want.** ## Blackheath and the sound of music A second café followed in Blackheath. With help from Aysin's friends Fred and Martin, a former charity shop was transformed into another Pistachios café, with an intimate jazz venue created downstairs. Music became part of its character. Legendary folk guitarist Bert Jansch performed there, while Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze became a familiar visitor, sometimes arriving with his guitar and playing an impromptu set. Pistachios appeared to be entering another period of expansion. Aysin and Sally began considering a further location in Canterbury. Then everything changed. Sally was diagnosed with a brain stem tumour. Business plans suddenly became irrelevant. Canterbury was abandoned and the family's attention turned entirely towards Sally. She died in 1998. For Aysin, the loss was both personal and profound. Sally had not simply been his wife. She had been there at the creation of Pistachios. Her cooking, personality and ideas had helped shape what the business had become. Aysin was now raising their three sons — **Ben, Remie and Josh** — while trying to work out what came next. ## A return to Manor House Gardens The next chapter would take Pistachios away from the traditional high street. And, unexpectedly, it would take Aysin back to somewhere he already knew extraordinarily well. **Manor House Gardens in Lewisham.** His connection with the park stretched back

# Pistachios in the Park: The Family Story That Grew Into a London Park Institution