Rossopomodoro opens first Italian restaurant outside London

04-Sep-2011 - Last updated on 05-Sep-2011 at 16:06 GMT

Rossopomodoro has plans to grow to 30 sites in the next five years

Italian restaurant chain Rossopomodoro has expanded its UK operations beyond London for the first time, with a new site at Selfridges’ food hall in Birmingham.

The 65-cover restaurant launched last week serving the chain’s signature menu of artisan pizza and pasta dishes, using ingredients sourced exclusively from Naples.

Mario Romano, head of marketing at Rossopomodoro, the largest Pizza brand in Italy, said Birmingham was the second key UK market for the group outside of London.

“Birmingham is an extraordinary city with many diverse cultures and a very exciting food scene,” he said. “Add to that the fact that our new restaurant will be within Selfridges, the city’s most prestigious store, and we have found our perfect home outside London.”

Rapid expansion plans

The restaurant’s opening comes after private equity firm Change Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in the business in February this year.

Romano told BigHospitality the investment will be used to further Rossopomodoro’s plans for expansion within the UK.

“In the immediate future we plan to open new restaurants in London - it is still our key market in the UK. Then our mission is to bring our Neapolitan food to major cities in the UK over the next two to five years. We’re looking at the usual suspects in terms of population and demographics, like Manchester, Liverpool and of course Birmingham.

“It depends on how quickly we find the right sites but we’d like to have 20-30 restaurants by 2016. The next one will definitely in London – we’re looking at sites every day.”

The group currently also operates three restaurants in London, in Notting Hill, Chelsea and Covent Garden.