How I sold my sneaker collection to kickstart a £10 million pizza empire

After establishing his status in Scotland’s capital, and 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.

Michele is now calling on pizza lovers to suggest venues where the food truck can visit next. 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 established his first venue in 2016 by selling his beloved rare sneaker collection he built over decades, including rare Nike SB dunks and original Nike Air Jordans. The almost £10k raised gave the budding businessman the funds he needed to buy his first pizza oven and dough mixer, as well as some furniture.

Currently, 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.

In September, Civerinos will open its first venue outside of Edinburgh, in Finnieston, Glasgow. By then, 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.

“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 much 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 and tag @civerinos_slice.

Keep an eye on the page to follow their journey and see where the food truck appears next. Find out more at www.civerinos.com.