Heads up, Texas, Dué Cucina is going south.
The Seattle-based casual Italian restaurant chain is expanding to deep into the heart of the Lone Star State, thanks to $2.5 million direct investment from Mac Haik Restaurant Group (MHRG), a Houston-based restaurant investment company.
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Dué Cucina will open three locations in Texas within the next two years. The company and MHRG will also form a joint venture to launch 10 additional units in the state by 2031.
Dué Cucina, which has four locations in Seattle, describes itself as “a casual-gourmet Italian restaurant serving fresh handmade pasta dishes, appetizers, porchetta, and desserts."
"We want everybody to experience the way we eat pasta and Italian food at home: fresh and diverse yet simple food, prepared from scratch every day, with an affordable price tag," Due Cucina said on its website.
The company was founded in 2016 by Davide Macchi and Filippo Fiori, two friends who were born and raised in Tuscany and met while riding the bus to high school.
Macchi, the company's CEO, is a former project manager at Amazon (AMZN), while Fiori, president and head chef, has a doctorate degree in nuclear science and technology.
Expanding to Texas and Beyond...
“This partnership with MHRG is a significant milestone that signals the start of Dué Cucina’s expansion into new markets across the country,” Macchi said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to leveraging MHRG’s deep expertise in the restaurant space to rapidly accelerate our growth and continue proving our concept in Texas and beyond.”
The pair are looking for their share of the estimated $5.9 billion North American pasta industry using the causal model developed by companies like Chipoltle Mexican Grill (CMG).
There are other Italian restaurant chains out there, include Darden Restaurants' (DRI) Olive Garden, Fat Brands' (FAT) Fazoli's and Carrabba's Italian Grill, which is own by Outback Steakhouse parent Bloomin' Brand (BLMN).
Fiori graduated from Tsinghua University in China, where he taught cooking classes and was a resident Italian chef on the Chinese cooking show "YummyYummy!"
"I believe that cooking is an art that can be improved with science," Fiori said on his LinkedIn page. "As a scientist, I leverage my scientific background to develop standardized food processing methods for ingredient optimization."
Brandon Poynter, President for Mac Haik Enterprises LTD. said “the Texas market shares a lot of similarities to Seattle and offers a significant opportunity to deliver authentic Italian cuisine in an affordable and accessible way.”
As it expands its footprint in Texas, Due Cucina will continue expanding in the Seattle area with a fifth location scheduled to open in Redmond, WA in 2024.
