News

Pizza proliferation: Bonci, Bavaro, Vapiano and Pie Five add locations

August 1, 2017

Four pizza brands are movin' out with new locations, including a down-sized "mini" pizzeria, one that fires pies in a wood oven and even a Rome-based brand that slices pies with scissors.

That last concept is Bonci pizza, a concept from Rome-based Chef Gabriele Bonci, who Italian Vogue once referred to as the "Michelangelo of Pizza," according to a news release. The chain, which has five Italian locations, is opening its first U.S. location this month in Chicago. 

The West Loop location will bring some competition to the city and its well-loved Chicago-style pizza by introducing the al taglio concept, which features scissor-cut pizza sliced in rectangular shapes to the size of each customer's choosing. Daily, the restaurant will feature 20 varieties of pizza based on seasonal specialties with a crisp crust made over the course of two days. 

The quick-service counter-serve concept prices pieces by weight with each slice featuring some offbeat and traditional topping like potato, Mozzarella and rosemary, as well as egg, bacon and Pecorino and a hummus-broccoli-olive-pesto combo. 

The menu also includes "suppli" (Roman-inspired rice and pasta balls stuffed with cheeses and meats), along with sandwiches and salads, beer wine, teas, juices and imported soda. 

Meanwhile, down in the sunshine state, two brands are adding locations, including Pie Five in Clearwater and Bavaro in Sarasota. 

Pie Five's second Florida restaurant opened this Monday in the Tampa Bay city on Gulf to Bay Boulevard, under the leadership of Jeffrey Parker, a former McDonald's operator. Parker also has a location in Estero, Florida, and will open one in Coral Springs this fall, a news release said. The Rave Restaurant Group brand now has nearly 100 locations nationally. 

Meanwhile, over on Fletcher Avenue in Sarasota, Bavaro's will open a new restaurant in the area's judicial/business district featuring wood oven-fired pies, as well as soups, salads, Italian dishes and desserts. The restaurant will open before the end of this year, a news release said.

Meanwhile, in Vienna, Vapiano recently opened its eighth Viennese location and its second "mini" Vapiano, a down-sized version of the brand in the shopping center SCS. The 105-seat restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating, features the brand's one-stop-ordering and a new interior. The company said in an email that the small concept restaurant is being targeted as a format to help the brand expand internationally. 

Photo: iStock