A piece of Germany, especially Munich, Italy. And a piece of authentic Tuscany exported to the other regions of the Bel Paese. This is what they are implementing Pietro Nicastro And Monica Fantoni, creators of two catering brands that are proving to be successful, thanks to fast and constant growth. Let’s talk about Löwengrube and Tosca – Tuscan Excellences. The first is the franchising restaurant format which owes its name to the historic street of the German city where the first beer was produced in the Zum Löwen inn way back in 1524 and which has the mission of offering an authentic experience in Italy with the best traditional Bavarian products, like in a permanent Oktoberfest.
And it’s right at Bavarian breweries which is inspired by Löwengrube, founded in 2005 with the first location in Limite sull’Arno, on the outskirts of Florence, where the headquarters of the network is located, which today has more than thirty rooms in Italy and beyond six hundred people employed and which combines the food and wine offering with the characteristic comforts of venues across the Alps, such as the Kinder Area where children can play peacefully and the Biergarten, the “beer garden”. A formula that evidently works, given the continuous growth recorded over the years which is based on simplification and automation of operations and constant training. This guarantees quality and uniformity of service in the premises, which are available in different formats in terms of size and context. Only between June and July will the chain have three new openings: in Rimini, at the Urban district To Dream in Turin and in Milan, at Cascina Merlata. The sales points in Turin and Milan are part of the agreement with Sal Service which led to the creation of the joint venture Lsm (Löwengrube Shopping Mall) for the development of the network in shopping centers, a channel that still represents great growth potential for the brand. One year after the opening of the first store in Milan, a strategic showcase for the development of the chain, opened last June following the acquisition of the historic Kapuziner Platz, a point of reference for fans of the combined offer for over twenty years of Bavarian food and beer.
As regards, however, Tosca – Tuscan Excellencesit is a one-of-a-kind catering format: a one dish restaurant which has the Tuscan Schiacciata at the center of the gastronomic offer: a versatile product suitable for any moment of the day, from breakfast to dinner, and also perfect for consumption on the go. Here the basic idea is to guarantee the authenticity of Tuscan cuisine and products thanks to the agreements made with the main ones PDO and PGI protection consortia. Tosca, launched in September 2022, concentrates all the know-how and theexpertise which have been acquired over time with Löwengrube. In fact, despite the strong territorial imprint, the format was created for be replicated: the points of sale are standardized both in layout and in operations. Thanks to important agreements with strategic partners, the expansion of the brand is starting in the travel channel and in shopping centres, with sales points already in Lastra a Signa, a few kilometers from Florence, in the historic center of the Tuscan capital, in Turin (in Porta Nuova and in the Settimo Cielo Retail Park shopping center) and in Rome Termini. The strength of the younger of the two brands is represented by the fact that every crushed Tosca it is made strictly by hand and is stone cooked, light and fragrant, thanks to a leavening process lasting over 16 hours and the special mix of flours ground with natural biga, which give it the inimitable flavour, also guaranteed by the use of excellences such as the PDO Prosciutto and Pecorino Toscano and the PGI Finocchiona, Mortadella di Prato and Tuscan extra virgin olive oil. A mix that gives the product an ever-changing shape and an inimitable taste that conquers the palates of anyone who tries it. Just like the business model created by Pietro Nicastro and Monica Fantoni which is conquering more and more franchisees around Italy.
