New York – Vapiano on Monday celebrated the grand re-launch of its New York City Flagship location at 113 University Place with a star-studded event attended by as many as 600 VIP guests. Vapiano CEO Jochen Halfmann unveiled the completely refurbished NYC space, featuring a new dining room, state-of-the art equipment and cooking line, a remodeled pasta manifattura, a new addition to the take-out and delivery station and a redesigned bar.
Vapiano CEO Jochen Halfmann said: “The re-launch of our flagship restaurant at University Place is a real milestone for Vapiano and marks the latest step in our global expansion. The U.S. market has great potential for Vapiano and we are delighted that we see such strong sales growth in our existing restaurants.”
The re-launch of Vapiano’s NYC location is the latest in a series of new openings planned by Vapiano in the United States this year, including new restaurants to be launched in Miami, Chicago and Washington, DC that will take Vapiano’s U.S. restaurant count to 10 by the end of this year. The U.S. expansion of Vapiano, the gastronomic lifestyle brand founded in 2002, is part of its broader plan to nearly double the count of its restaurants around the globe to 330 by the end of 2020.
Doors at the new Union Square Vapiano opened with a red carpet entrance and guests – including celebrities such as Actress Gina Gershon, Real Housewives of NYC’s Kelly Bensimon and Orange is the new Black’s Diane Guerrero – were greeted with Prosecco and appetizers. The night kicked off with a ribbon cutting and speeches by Jochen Halfmann, CFO Lutz Scharpe, Board Member Mario C. Bauer and Vapiano USA CEO Carlos Politano, before the Vapianisti fired up their cooking stations and started serving Vapiano’s signature freshly-made Italian-style pizza and pasta dishes.
