North Italia to Open First Bay Area Location
Scratch-kitchen Italian restaurant chain North Italia will open its first Bay Area location in Walnut Creek on March 25. The restaurant is known for its handmade pasta and is part of a broader strategy to expand its presence in the region's dining scene.
North Italia was founded in 2002 in Arizona by Sam Fox, a restaurateur who is a 10-time James Beard Award semifinalist. It is a brand under the umbrella of Fox Restaurant Concepts, which also includes other establishments like Flower Child, Culinary Dropout, and The Henry. The Cheesecake Factory Inc. acquired North Italia and the rest of Fox Restaurant Concepts in 2019 for over $300 million. This acquisition integrated North Italia's operations into The Cheesecake Factory's corporate headquarters in Calabasas Hills to support its national expansion. The new Walnut Creek location is the brand's seventh in California and is part of a continued westward expansion, with its 50th restaurant slated to open in Brea, Southern California. The Walnut Creek restaurant is an 8,500-square-foot space with seating for over 200 guests and features an open kitchen. To create a local feel, North Italia collaborated with San Francisco-based arts agency Local Edition Creative on a mural for the restaurant's interior. The artwork is a modern take on Venus, surrounded by imagery that pays homage to the Bay Area. The chain emphasizes a "scratch-kitchen" concept, with pastas and pizza dough made in-house daily. The average check is approximately $34.60 for lunch and $44.40 for dinner, with beverages accounting for 23% of sales in fiscal 2024. On the technology front, North Italia partners with platforms like OpenTable for reservations and has an exclusive third-party delivery relationship with DoorDash. Their website is built on WordPress, and they utilize Google Analytics for web traffic analysis.
