SAN MATEO, Calif.--()--Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria (www.amicis.com), the critically acclaimed San Francisco Bay Area restaurant, will open in Shanghai in January, company co-founder and President Peter Cooperstein announced today.
The first “Ello Amici’s” is located on Xiangyang Road in the popular HuaiHai Road shopping district of Shanghai.
The China opening is the product of collaboration between Cooperstein, partner Mike Forter and the Lo Family of Shanghai. Menlo Park resident Sophie Lo is a Bay Area businesswoman and her brother, Jimmy Lo, is a real estate developer in China.
"When Mike Forter and I founded our first Amici's East Coast Pizzeria in 1987, we were excited to introduce the Bay Area to the style and quality of our food and to our service-oriented operation,” Cooperstein said. “Today we are equally energized to realize an even greater opportunity in China!"
Renowned for pizza prepared in open flame, 700 degree ovens, Ello Amici’s will offer Chinese patrons a similar menu to that available to Amici’s diners in the Bay Area.
Amici’s began serving an east coast-style thin crust pizza in a smart and casual atmosphere in December of 1987 and operates 12 sites from San Jose to Vacaville, including two popular San Francisco locations, on Lombard Street and on King Street, across from AT&T Park. The company is annually ranked as one of the most successful independently-owned pizza businesses in the United States.
"Our goal is to open several locations in Shanghai and then expand into Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau and other areas in China,” Cooperstein said.
The popular eatery has also scheduled its initial Southern California site, in La Jolla (Northern San Diego County) for the spring of 2012. Additionally, Amici’s pizzas are now served at San Jose Sharks National Hockey League games in the HP Pavilion.
Media Note: Downloadable images and broadcast quality video in 3x4 and 9x16 of Ello Amici’s in Shanghai are available in the Media Center on the corporate website at www.amiciscorp.com