Growth plan in Italia for Focacceria San Francesco

A new opening in Via Maqueda, in the heart of Palermo, and a growth plan that aims to take the brand out of the city without stripping it of its identity. The relaunch of Antica Focacceria San Francesco, with its almost two centuries of history, starts here: from the attempt to transform one of the most recognisable brands of Sicilian gastronomy into a national platform for organised catering.

Marco Beretta, director of Spoon Brands and figure at the helm of the new phase of the Focacceria, is in charge of the project. The corporate transition is what got the brand moving again: in July 2025, Spoon Brands took over 60% of Antica Focacceria San Francesco, while Cirfood Retail, which in turn had taken over the shares from Feltrinelli in 2020, remained 40% in the joint venture built to develop its growth. It was Beretta who defined the perimeter of the group and the logic with which the Focacceria was inserted into a larger machine.

"Today Spoon Brands presides over four brands: Antica Focacceria San Francesco, Milos Greek Food, KFC in Italia and 45 per cent of Rossopomodoro," he explains. But, at this stage, Antica Focacceria occupies a special position: it is the brand that brings identity, memory, Italian recognisability and depth of storytelling into the group. Antica Focacceria San Francesco traces its roots back to 1834 and found in 1851, with Salvatore Alaimo, one of the decisive steps in its history. It is in that tradition that the focaccia con la milza (focaccia with spleen) was born, in the 'schietta' and 'maritata' versions, which over time has become the most recognisable symbol of the restaurant and, more generally, of Palermo street food. It is a piece of history: tradition has it that Garibaldi stopped there and that illustrious writers and artists (Pirandello, Sciascia and Guttuso) used to meet there, including the architect Ernesto Basile, to whom the logo, cast-iron tables and wrought-iron chairs are attributed.

"The historic headquarters in Piazza San Francesco remains the reference point for the brand's most authentic and symbolic dimension," says Beretta. The sense of the new opening in Via Maqueda is all in this dual trajectory: on the one hand the historical location, on the other a place designed to be within the flows of the centre, between tourism and nightlife, with a more immediate offer and a proposal that also extends to the artisan gelato parlour. Beretta places this operation within a broader strategy. "The group's turnover is over 350 million euro and it was actually born two and a half years ago," he explains. Behind the individual brands is a common structure, designed to support industrial development without erasing the identity of each brand. This is the point that makes La Focacceria a special asset: not just a brand to be enhanced, but the most identifiable piece of a portfolio built to grow. The operation envisages, alongside the historical format, the development of a faster formula more suited to commercial contexts, centred on the Sicilian street food experience: not only 'panino con la milza' (spleen sandwich), therefore, but also something else, including catering. "We are planning to open or re-launch seven more Antica Focacceria San Francesco points: the next one will be at the end of May in Rome". The geography of the locations also tells the logic of the project well. "The one in Milan is our flagship together with the one in Piazza San Francesco in Palermo," notes Beretta. Then there is Turin, Barberino, Rome, Catania airport and other points already identified or contracted. It is not an indistinct expansion: it is a network designed to be in strong cities, commercial nodes and places with high traffic intensity. The investment chapter also gives a sense of the game.

Beretta puts the multibrand perimeter - Antica Focacceria San Francesco, Milos and Rossopomodoro - at over EUR 7 million, while Spoon Brands' 2026 plan would reach just under EUR 20 million. On the Milos Greek Food front, after the openings already realised in Rome and Milan, the plan foresees another 15 openings in 2026 to reach twenty premises by the end of the year.