Stella's Italian Kitchen and Market is a neighborhood restaurant and prepared foods market with a strong commitment to providing exceptional food options.

Our staff has a combined 65+ years of experience in the hospitality business. The following is a little bio on the players.

Bob and Denby Coyle: Proprietors

Migrating to the Upper Valley in 1991, Denby and I brought a piece of the flat lands with us. We opened the Bagel Basement in Hanover, which seemed a bit of a novelty shop here when others like it were a dime a dozen in our native New Jersey. Initially, we were met with responses like "You're going to sell what? For how much? ... Good luck, kids."  Sixteen years later the Bagel Basement (and its Lebanon sibling) still stands as an Upper Valley institution. The most important lesson learned from the Bagel Basement experience is that the customer needs to feel a degree of ownership in the business and a true sense of value from its product. We believe that if you give people what they want… they will walk away happy and feeling appreciated.

Martin Murphy: Executive Chef

Martin has been working in the culinary world for over 25 years. He has extensive experience in the fine dining arena as rounds cook, sous chef, working chef, and executive chef. He has worked at well-established restaurants in Boston, Cape Cod, Palm Beach Gardens, and Fort Myers, Florida. Martin has trained under a variety of European chefs. His experience includes Classic French, Pacific Rim, Northern Italian, Mediterranean, and Modern American cuisines. Martin shares in our commitment to the Slow Food Movement and to preserving and enhancing the sustainability of farming by sourcing locally first. We are fortunate to have his talent, his spirit, and to share in his passion for food, wine, and life.

Judy Elliott

Focus on the plate alone does not provide for an overall memorable dining experience. To that end, we have had the great fortune to work with the dynamic Judy Elliott and have benefited from her incredible interior design skills. As with our food professionals, we complimented each other with common aesthetics and ideas. Judy not only confirmed many of our design decisions but brought her professional experience to areas we alone would not have been able to create effectively. Judy's eye for color, lighting, and design has truly helped bring the whole project together.

We would also like to bring attention to the time and talents of the many others who have helped us make Stella’s a reality:

• Estes and Gallup and all their crew
• ARC Mechanical
• Lyme Electric
• Bruce and Matt Barnard
• Morton Bailey and Johnny (someone had to get down in the hole; at least the septic tank was new)
• New England Kitchen Depot
• Current Concepts (Adam Bristol and crew) 
• Bill Fielding from Northeast Food Service
• Barre Tile of New Hampshire
• Brian Horan of Lighting Designs
• Rod Finley from Pathways Consulting LLC
• North Country Refrigeration
• Vermont Salvage
• Ledyard National Bank
• Martha Diebold
• The Valley News
• Simplweb
  
• Tracy Flickinger-Artist and Illustrator
• Chef Anthony Presti and Chef Carmen Aparo and crew at PizzaMan in Pompton Plains, NJ (you have got to eat here!)
• Last...but certainly not least...Chris Stowe and Jennifer Carter! Their collective skill set put us on the right path on so many levels.

And, all our family, friends, and the community of Lyme and the surrounding area for all your encouragement and support.