Atlanta Good Food category interest

A new fast-casual restaurant is aiming to bring a little bit of Italy to metro Atlanta and beyond.

The flagship location of Pochino Italy is now open in Kennesaw, near Kennesaw State University at the Village at Town Park shopping center. The menu includes a lineup of pasta dishes made fresh in-house, eight varieties of pinsa (a style of pizza dough) and salads, along with a variety of gelato flavors, gelato cookie sandwiches, cannoli and espresso beverages. Many ingredients are imported from Italy.

The 1,700-square-foot restaurant has seating for 40 inside and 12 outside, as well as a to-go window as part of the mission to be convenient.

“We really focused on the Italian quality of food, but American lifestyle,” co-founder Jennifer Erdman told What Now Atlanta.

The bolognese and pesto pasta are turning out to be particularly popular dishes. Staying true to the Italian roots of the cuisine is especially evident in the carbonara, which features actual guanciale, a specific cut of pork that is a feature of many Italian dishes, rather than the commonly used regular bacon.

Many items can be “made Americana,” for example, by adding chicken to a pasta dish. Items can also be customized. One customer opted to go off-menu by ordering a pesto pinsa, creating a frenzy of customers who wanted the same thing. And if you don’t know what you want, the staff will help you.

“A woman came in yesterday and she was like, ‘I’ve never been here. What do you recommend?’ Our staff is good about going, ‘What do you normally like?’ They guide them through a little tour of Italy,” Erdman said.

Pochino Italy is backed by a team with a wealth of hospitality and culinary experience, with Erdman, Sam Lundy, Andrea Casarin and Giuseppe Barbera as owners.

“We felt like there was a true void in the U.S. marketplace for a quick Italian meal that really represented the authentic ingredients that the country is celebrated for, and that also doesn’t sacrifice quality,” Barbera said. “We are thrilled to bring the menu here to the Atlanta area and feel Kennesaw is the ideal spot for our flagship location, thanks to the exciting development that is continuously happening all around us.”

Lundy and Erdman hit it off when working with Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of Camping World and host of the reality TV show “The Profit” in which Lemonis used expertise and capital to help struggling small businesses.

Erdman, who has experience in branding and marketing from working for companies like ATandT and MTV, said she has learned lots from Lundy. He has decades of experience in the hospitality world, particularly in franchising and as the chief operating officer of Cheeburger Cheeburger.

After learning so much about what makes a business tick, they started to think about how they could do it on their own. Then the opportunity presented itself in 2019.

“We got a phone call saying there’s guys in Italy that have a concept they’d love to bring to bring to the U.S.,” Erdman said.

The plans were put on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Erdman kept thinking about it. She liked Casarin and Barbera and believed in what the concept could be.

She revived the conversation in 2021, bringing up the idea to her friend, Chris Lowe. Then the team got to work, creating a new concept with a menu that would feature authentic Italian recipes and flavor while appealing to a wide population of Americans.

Casarin and Barbera came to the U.S. in March 2023 to nail down the recipes. The cuisine of Pochino Italy is what they grew up on, with a focus on simplicity and flavor, and Erdman knew they were onto something.

“They were starting in my kitchen here and they were cooking the simplest foods: tomatoes, olive oil, salt over fresh noodles,” Erdman said. “I said, ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten, it reminds me of being in Rome.’ Not only does the concept look good on paper, it tasted amazing.”

They’ve coined a phrase they call the “Pochino pause” to describe the moment a customer takes a bite and is struck by the flavor.

“I lived in New York City around the best Italian restaurants, I’ve been to Rome, and I would put our food next to them any day,” Erdman said. “We’re proud to serve it.”

The Kennesaw location is just the first of many on the horizon. Pochino Italy has an eye on major growth, and franchising opportunities are expected to begin in Q4 2024. The concept will be headquartered in Georgia, where many of the first locations will be.

“Your brand dollars work better for quality and brand awareness if you’re closer together,” Erdman said.

But they plan to eventually expand out of Georgia, leveraging the culinary and franchising expertise of the team behind the concept.

“Our goal is to do 200 of these, that’s the target,” Erdman said. “It’s a stretch goal, but we hope we can achieve it.”

Metro Atlanta makes for an ideal home base for the concept for several reasons. In addition to the thriving culinary scene of the city, its size and density make for a great candidate pool for staffing a corporate entity. The large size of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport also creates ease for potential Pochino Italy franchisees to come check out the concept thanks to direct flights from a wide array of cities.

With the motto mangia come un Italiano (“eat like an Italian”), Pochino Italy aims to provide not only flavorful, authentic cuisine, but a meal that’s convenient and good bang for your buck.

“Our dollars don’t go nearly as far they used to,” Erdman said. “If someone wants to give me their hard-earned dollars, I want to give them an experience where they don’t question how much they spent.”

Pochino Italy in Kennesaw is open for lunch and dinner 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.