North Italia milestone

North Italia opened at Brea Mall on April 22, giving the chain its 50th restaurant nationwide. (latimes.com) The new restaurant is at 1500 Brea Mall, Suite 1501, and North Italia’s site lists daily service plus weekend brunch at the location. The brand already operates another Orange County restaurant in Irvine. (northitalia.com) North Italia began in Arizona in 2002, and The Cheesecake Factory completed its acquisition of North Italia and Fox Restaurant Concepts in October 2019. (latimes.com) (investors.thecheesecakefactory.com) The Brea opening lands as Simon continues reshaping Brea Mall with new retail and dining tenants, an outdoor plaza and a larger mixed-use redevelopment around the property. Earlier plans approved by the city included 380 apartments, new dining space and other additions at the mall. (whatnow.com) (voiceofoc.org) North Italia’s current locations page shows the brand spread across multiple states, with Brea now listed among its California restaurants and additional markets marked “coming soon.” That makes the 50-store mark less a one-off opening than a checkpoint in a broader growth push. (northitalia.com) At the new Brea restaurant, the menu posted online centers on the brand’s usual mix of handmade pastas, pizzas, small plates and brunch dishes, from cacio e pepe arancini to spicy rigatoni-style pasta offerings and French toast. (northitalia.com) For Brea Mall, the opening adds a full-service restaurant to a property that has been shifting from a traditional enclosed mall toward a shop-dine-live destination. For North Italia, it puts a round number on a chain that started as a single Arizona concept and now has a coast-to-coast footprint. (connectcre.com) (latimes.com)