Löwengrube, a successful restaurant format that has been promoting the authentic Bavarian style restaurant-brewery model in Italy for almost twenty years, has opened two new sales points in recent days: one in Turin at To Dream, the most largest in Piedmont, and the other in Rimini, in a very busy tourist area in front of Porta Galliana.
Behind the foreign name and format lies an entrepreneurial initiative born from the intuition of the two Italian entrepreneurs Pietro Nicastro and Monica Fantoni, who opened the first restaurant in Limite sull’Arno (FI) in 2005, the embryo of the chain which today has around thirty sales points and over 600 people already employed throughout Italy.
Both in Piedmont and Emilia Romagna for several years it has already been possible to relive the atmosphere of the Oktoberfest on a permanent basis, sipping the historic beers of Munich and tasting the typical dishes of Bavarian and South Tyrolean cuisine. The opening of the new restaurant in the Turin shopping center is the third in the shadow of the Mole, joined by the fourth in Biella, also inside a shopping centre. In Emilia Romagna, then, the sign is now a custom for the local population: thanks to the team of local franchisees, 4 other Löwengrube restaurants are already active in the region, in Bologna, Casalecchio di Reno, Modena and Ravenna.
“The Oktoberfest experience recreated by our format – comments Pietro Nicastro, CEO and co-founder with Monica Fantoni of Löwengrube and of the new TOSCA Eccellenze Toscane restaurant format – has found a good response in these regions. They come to visit us in our stube to savor the typical beers of the famous Bavarian festival, accompanied by frankfurters and pretzels, and repeat the experience, becoming loyal customers because our venues are suitable for welcoming a varied audience, from couples to groups of friends, but also families with children Opening new venues in the same area is an important sign of appreciation for the format, not only by the public, but also by our partners, who believe in our entrepreneurial project.”
The two new bierstubes – this is the name of the typical Bavarian beer-pub restaurants – can accommodate over 180 people in Turin and 900 in Rimini between the internal rooms (divided into a convivial Oktoberfest area for groups, a family space with an adjacent children’s area inspired by the Montessorian method and the most private area suitable for couples and small groups of friends) and the tables outside, to sip the authentic Oktoberfest beers even outdoors, poured strictly in the German style with the characteristic foam cap, essential for preserving aroma, fragrance and lightness of the drink. The restaurant in Rimini is a record-breaking place: it hosts the largest beer garden of the entire chain, with 1200 square meters of open-air surface area!
Entering a Löwengrube bierstube means taking a journey into Bavarian culture, thanks to welcoming wooden furnishings cheered up by the colors of the Bavarian flag, staff in traditional clothes and Bavarian folk music and songs. The experience culminates at the table. The menu offers a rich variety of Bavarian specialties, cold cuts and cheese platters, themed appetizers and desserts, such as the irresistible pretzels dusted with sugar and accompanied by chocolate cream, but also vegetarian variations, a special gluten-free menu and the Kinder menu for children, who can play in the kinder area designed according to Montessori principles to stimulate interaction through educational games made with natural materials.
The two new openings confirm the brand’s development plan, which aims to grow in parallel with the franchising channel and with directly managed premises.
The opening in Rimini is the result of the consolidated partnership with a group of local entrepreneurs – Filippo Fochi, Ferruccio Perdisa, Fabio Pasini and Gianni Ugolini – who with their company Lowen Guys Srl opened the fifth restaurant in the region in Rimini.
The opening in the To Dream urban district of Turin is the result of the joint venture signed in 2023 by Löwengrube with SAL Service, a leading company in the promotion, development and investment in large real estate operations of a predominantly commercial nature, from which the newco LSM was born – Löwengrube Shopping Mall, with the specific aim of strengthening the presence of the format in shopping centers across the country. Now LSM also manages the Löwengrube restaurant which has been present for some years inside the I Viali di Nichelino shopping center (on the outskirts of Turin) and the restaurant soon to open inside Merlata Bloom in Milan, which will open its doors by the summer.
Source: Press Office
