Flowers have been left outside the restaurant Mike Thalassitis was due to open before his death.
The Love Island star was found dead in a forest in North London on Saturday, 16 March.
Police have since confirmed the 26-year-old died by suicide.
In the wake of Mike’s tragic death, Essex locals have paid tribute by leaving bouquets at the entrance of The Skillet in Loughton, which was due to open next week.
Messages attached to the flowers read: ‘Rest in peace Mike, you’re at peace now. Thoughts are with your family’ and ‘You were so loved’.
Mike had teamed up with friend and fellow ex-footballer Scott Neilson to launch The Skillet, with the pair having already reportedly sent out invites for the grand opening.
The reality star and Scott filed their company, The Skillet Ltd, with Companies House in January, with Thalassitis listed as a director of the company.
An Instagram account for The Skillet was set up on 27 February, with a post shared on 2 March excitedly marking them reaching 1,000 followers.
The restaurant had planned to produce skillet breakfasts, as well as eggs and buttermilk pancakes for breakfasts and brunches.
As well as promoting The Skillet in his own Instagram bio, Mike teased a new house night called Nova London, which was set to be launching on 21 April.
Mike was a professional footballer, playing for clubs including Stevanage, Boreham Wood and Margate, before getting into reality TV.
However, he rose to fame on the third series of Love Island in 2017, when he had a brief romance with Olivia Attwood on the show.
Mike later joined the cast of Celebs Go Dating the following year.
Reality stars have been left devastated by Mike taking his own life, with close friend Montana Brown expressing her heartbreak on today’s edition of This Morning.
Revealing that she received a text from Mike two days before his body was found, the 23-year-old tearfully explained: ‘I’m kicking myself because he text me and I just didn’t reply, just because I’m really bad with my phone.
‘You just overthink everything, what you do, and… I just wish I’d replied.’
Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield consoled the Love Island star, saying she couldn’t possibly have known.
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