Edinburgh business: Edinburgh pizza chain Civerinos to take a slice of the action in Glasgow

Edinburgh business to open first Glasgow restaurant later this year

Fast-growing Edinburgh pizza-chain Civerinos has announced it will open its first restaurant in Glasgow in September, after the business was launched seven years ago thanks to a collection of rare Nike trainers.

Now Michele Civiera’s NY-style slice bars are on track for £10 million annual turnover with national expansion on the horizon thanks to the announcement of a new branch along the M8 at Finnieston in Glasgow.

After establishing icon status in Scotland’s capital, even being named among the UK’s top ten pizzas, the restaurateur and entrepreneur has unveiled a new food truck, which will soon bring the brand’s signature slices to venues and events across the UK. The entrepreneur and restaurateur is now calling on pizza lovers to suggest venues where the food truck can visit next.

Civerinos founder Michele Civiera has big plans for his Edinburgh business to expand.

This is a significant step towards Civerinos’ ambition to become a household name with sites nationwide.

“We will become a national brand in the next few years, and the best way to do that is to build demand by making sure more people have the chance to try our pizza”, said Michele.

“Eventually, we’ll have venues in almost every student town and city across the UK, but our food truck is going to blaze a trail for us first. Everywhere I go, I see people wearing our t-shirts. We want to build a movement of people who have a great attitude, enjoy good times and good music, and love big, tasty slices of NY-style pizza.”

Michele bootstrapped his first venue in 2016 by selling his beloved rare sneaker collection he built up over decades, including incredibly rare Nike SB dunks and original Nike Air Jordans. The almost £10,000 raised gave the budding entrepreneur the funds he needed to buy his first pizza oven and dough mixer, as well as some furniture.

Customers pictured at one of Civerinos' Edinburgh outlets.

Civerinos has four sites in Edinburgh: slice bars in Portobello and the city centre, a restaurant on Hunter Square, just off the Royal Mile, and a delivery kitchen which is also home to the firm’s production kitchen, training academy and creative studio.

Once opened in Glasgow the business will employ almost 200 people. After achieving turnover of £6m in 2022, the fast-growing firm is on target for £7m this year and £10m by the end of 2024.

Michele commented: “There’s a gap in the market. There are loads of amazing pizza places, but our NY-style pizzas combined with our overall vibe and attitude brings something new to the table.

“We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far, and we’re incredibly excited for what’s coming next. We are growing, and we have big ambitions. We are getting smarter as a business so we’re ready to scale while still providing the same quality and standards that people expect from us.

Michele Civiera and his pizza van.

“It’s been a challenging time thanks to the pandemic, Brexit, the supply chain crisis, and everything else that’s been thrown at the hospitality industry, but now we’re stronger than ever. We’ve learned a lot and we’re ready to go.”

The Civerinos food truck has already popped up in Glasgow and North Berwick, with plans to travel further afield. Civerinos is now calling on pizza fans across the UK to post a picture of a venue they’d like to see Civerinos pop-up on Instagram.