Urban Purveyor Group (UPG) has announced it’s bringing Italian restaurant group Fratelli Fresh to Melbourne, where it will occupy the ground floor of The Alfred dining and entertainment precinct when it opens in June.
Fratelli at The Alfred, located at 7 Alfred Place, is the first interstate outpost for the Sydney chain, which joined UPG’s portfolio in April.
The sixth Fratelli in the group will be a casual, full-service pizza and pasta restaurant that offers guests Italian cuisine and a family-friendly dining experience. It will build on the Fratelli menu, with some new items for the Melbourne market.
The Fratelli family will also be joined by the first casual premium venue for the group, when it opens at Grosvenor Place in Sydney’s CBD in September. The restaurant will be larger than its counterparts and offer an extended menu, including Fratelli classics, wood-fired pizzas, house-made pasta and a larger selection of premium meats and high quality seafood.
Also joining the UPG portfolio are small format gourmet pizzerias that will be rolled out in large numbers across Australia. Inspired by United States style pizza bars, the Fratelli branches will serve individual artisan-style pizzas featuring fresh-made, hand-tossed dough, signature sauces and a range of topping combinations. House-made gelato and a number of Italian-style, hand-crafted beers by Urban Brewing Co. will also be featured.
UPG chief executive Thomas Pash said it was an exciting time for the Fratelli group.
“We’re motivated by the strength of the global Italian restaurant sector and diners’ hunger for modern and innovative pizza offerings as well as artisanal and traditional styles of Italian cuisine,” Pash said.
“This will be a fast growing brand, inspired by the amazing menus of the Fratelli group as well as by innovators overseas, which will expand our reach into broader and rapidly expanding dining categories in Australia.”
UPG expects to roll out 10 to 20 Fratelli Fresh venues per state, several of the group’s flagship casual premium counterparts, and 30 to 40 Fratelli pizzerias in each state.
