Article

Fazoli's announces name of new Italian fast casual concept

CEO Carl Howard will grow Fazoli's and Venti-Tre simultaneously.

October 8, 2013 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Baltimore diners will be the first to experience the new Italian fast casual restaurant developed by Fazoli's, said CEO Carl Howard, who in May gave FastCasual.com a sneak peek of the concept. At that time it had not yet been named, but the "modern Italian" concept is officially known as Venti-Tre, which means 23 in Italian. It gets its name from its customizable menu featuring 23 fresh toppings every day.

"Venti-Tre will appeal to adventurous diners who are passionate about Italian food," Howard said. "It will be a fresh, exciting alternative with an emphasis on imaginative, 'better-for-you' food served in a comfortable environment."

The first company-owned restaurant will open in early 2014 at The Shops at Canton Crossing in Baltimore. A second should open a couple months later in the Washington D.C. area, followed by up to five to seven by 2015, before the company begins franchising.

How it works
Guests will choose a piada, pasta or salad, then select from several grilled meats or vegetables, including rosemary garlic steak, Tuscan lemon chicken and meatballs. Piadas and pastas will be sauced with several options, including House Pomodoro, Parmigiano fonduta, Vino bianco and garlic, while salads will be dressed with white balsamic, lemon red wine herb vinaigrette, light pomegranate or other choices. Toppings will range from Bruschetta tomato basil, fried capers, focaccia croutons and sliced hot sopressata, to rosemary sea salt potato hay and a wild mushroom blend.

Cheeses include parmesan, mozzarella/provolone, asiago, mozzarella ciliegini or feta, while sides range from focaccia, polenta fries with dipping sauce, tomato basil soup and roasted Italian vegetables. Mini tiramisu parfaits and cinnamon sugar bomboloni add a final, sweet touch to the menu. An Italian soda bar will provide unique beverage choices in addition to beer, wine and soft drinks, Howard said.

"Our goal is to be an early leader in a category that has the potential to explode," Howard said.“We are already seeing strong interest from prospective franchisees. This tells us the concept has tremendous potential.”

Fazoli's still growing

Venti-Tre will not interfere with Howard's plans to grow Fazoli's. In fact, things are still heating up for the chain.

"There's no question that Fazoli's is on fire right now," Howard said. "Our franchisees are outperforming (the standard) by four to five percent. We just signed three more agreements. We have great momentum there, and we aren't going to ignore it."

Read more about growth.

Wanna hear more from Carl Howard? Register for next week's Fast Casual Executive Summit, where he'll speak on a panel about his successes and the state of the industry.

About Cherryh Cansler

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Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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