Joe Bastianich brings his hamburgers to Turin and Rome
Joe Bastianich appears ready to broaden the horizons of his new entrepreneurial venture, JB Burger, which will soon be opening in Turin and Rome. This marks a new chapter in the professional life of the Italian-American, beloved by the foodie crowd, who got to know him during his long tenure as a judge on MasterChef.
Then, the partnership with Tommaso Mazzanti, who helped Antico Vinaio expand throughout the world, particularly in the United States, where Joe is at home and knows his way around.
In between, more TV adventures, more or less convincing podcasts, even a stage play about money, which is a bit of his (or perhaps our) obsession. And then, his great love, American-style hamburgers, with a chain that bears his name (and his stylized face): JB Burger.
The Story of JB Burger
The JB Burger brand is the result of a collaboration between Joe Bastianich and Bun Burgers, the first Italian chain specializing in smash burgers. The stated goal is to educate Italian consumers about American-style burger culture. The burgers offered are essentially the great New York classics: the cheeseburger ("Forget what they make you eat in Italy, the real NY Cheeseburger is onion, cucumber, and cheddar. Period"), the crispy bacon burger, and the like. It's a bit like Joe's American Smashburger, before this new project.
Originally opened in Rozzano, in the province of Milan, at the Fiordaliso shopping center, JB Burger is now announcing its next expansion into two segments that don't seem exactly identical, but that's how it is.
Two new openings are coming soon. The first, which just recently opened, is again in a shopping center, RomaEst, in the capital. The second will open in a few weeks in Turin, in one of the city's most central and somewhat aristocratic squares, Piazza Carlo Emanuele II, known to all Turin residents as Piazza Carlina.
At this point, the question remains as to who JB Burger's target audience is: whether it's the mall crowd or perhaps the tourist/city dweller passing through the city center. We'll see.
