Esselunga tests bistro formula to enter the restaurant business

A bistro-restaurant with cocktail bar. This is the new venue opened by Esselunga that Milanese customers will find in Piazza Risorgimento within the new LaEsse shop, a proximity format for everyday shopping, which is spread over two floors. On the upper floor is the bistrot, a premium catering evolution with an on-site kitchen and chef, a room with 54 seats, a lounge area with another 12 seats and a cocktail bar. "It is a test with which we aim at young customers and here (in the bistrot ndr) we will be able to organise events," explained Marina Caprotti, CEO of Esselunga and second generation of the large-scale retail giant. If this new format passes the test, it will become another extension of the offer in addition to the Bar Atlantic and the Esserbella perfumeries, sanctioning the entry into the world of catering with a solid mix of traditional northern Italia dishes such as mondeghili, vitello tonnato or veal cutlet with bone-in breadcrumbs, offered at affordable prices. In the recent past, the premises in Piazza Risorgimento, owned by Dolce and Gabbana, were occupied by chef Filippo La Mantia and before that by the two designers' Bistrot Gold restaurant. Next to the restaurant is a 130 square metre wine bar with around 600 labels. On the ground floor are the cafeteria and LaEsse, a supermarket of about 430 square metres with about 5,000 products including fresh, very fresh, ready meals with self-catering and home delivery service. All of this with an investment of between five and six million while the personnel involved number around fifty.

The Esselunga CEO also anticipated the

forthcoming openings in the Milan area: June will see the opening of the shop in Piazza Piola, in the premises of the former Splendor cinema, which will most likely be the 200th since the opening in 1957 of the first supermarket in Viale Regina Giovanna in Milan. The next reopening in the Milan area will be the Viale Piave shop, which will have the Bar Atlantic and other premises overlooking the avenue. The Gessate shop, which will open in November, will double its sales area.