Edinburgh Festival Fringe goers pick up a pizza the action with record sales for Civerinos

Civerinos celebrates busiest ever day, week and month during Fringe season

It’s not just art and culture that Fringe-goers have been hungry for this year, with Edinburgh pizza chain Civerinos announcing that this August has been its busiest month ever.

During the Fringe, more than 180,000 slices of pizza were sold, with Saturday, August 19, the busiest day in the company’s nine-year history. It’s estimated that the dough prepared by chefs Maciej Surmacki and Arnold Kovacs throughout the month could stretch from Edinburgh to the company’s new slice bar in Finnieston, Glasgow.

In more record-breaking fashion, it was the Italian street food institution’s busiest week ever from Monday, August 7, just days after this year’s Fringe began. The company, which has venues on Hunter Square, Forrest Road and Portobello Promenade, grew sales by 18 per cent thanks to the insatiable appetite from tourists and locals alike for the brand’s massive NY-style slices.

Maciej Surmacki and Arnold Kovacs from Edinburgh pizza chain Civerinos, which had record-breaking sales during the Fringe last month.

Civerinos closed its booking system for the entire month, simply telling fans: “Rock up, and we’ll sort you x”. In October, the company will host what it has described as “the staff party to end all staff parties” in Portobello to pay tribute to its team for their efforts, with a DJ, bonfires, wellness breakouts, food and drinks.

Mark De’mar, Civerinos operations director, said: “Our staff have been absolutely phenomenal. The Fringe is always busy - even busier than the festive season - but this was exceptional, and no matter how busy we were, everyone received the amazing service, and amazing pizza, they’ve come to expect from Civs thanks to our incredible team.

“Civerinos has become a must-visit for visitors to Edinburgh. But whether it’s a tourist coming for the first time or a regular who visits every Friday night, we go above and beyond to create the best possible experience.“

The company is set to open its first venue in Glasgow next month. Earlier this month, applications opened and the company was inundated with more than 400 people applying for a role in the Finnieston slice bar.

Mark added: “I’ve worked in this industry for more than a decade and I’ve never seen demand quite like it. It’s incredibly exciting that so many people want to work here. Over the past year we’ve put so much effort into making Civs the best place to work, and redefining hospitality as a viable and rewarding career. We’ll continue to try and improve every single day.

“We are out to fix the serious issues that have plagued hospitality: during our exceptionally busy August any work over contracted hours was minimal, and was either paid or returned as lieu time.

“Everyone in the team is so excited to come to Glasgow. It’s been a long time coming!“

As well as their famous NY-style slices, another dish proved popular in August: a 12-inch mozzarella stick, previously described by Mark as a “foot-long melty masterpiece”.

Last month, Civerinos founder Michele Civiera revealed the company was on track for £10 million annual turnover. Michele bootstrapped his first venue in 2016 by selling his beloved rare sneaker collection he built over decades. As well as its sites in Edinburgh and soon to open Glasgow venue, Civerinos also boasts a training academy, food truck and its own creative studio.