Buca di Beppo

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Buca, Inc.

Type	Subsidiary
Founded	1993
Headquarters	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Industry	Restaurants
Total equity	US$8.8 million
Employees	1,500[1]
Parent	Planet Hollywood
Website	www.bucadibeppo.com

Buca di Beppo is an American restaurant chain specializing in immigrant Southern Italian food. The name roughly translates as "Joe's Basement" (buca, which literally means "hole," can be a slang word for basement or cellar, and Beppo is a nickname for Giuseppe, the Italian form of "Joseph", in Southern Italy). The chain of 87^[2] establishments is owned by Buca, Inc., which in turn is owned by Planet Hollywood.

The food at Buca di Beppo is served family style, each item served à la carte and shared among the dining party. Some locations also have a lunch menu, featuring individual sized portions. Each room at Buca is themed, and all restaurants have a Pope table and kitchen table. The chain is also known for their vintage framed photographs hung closely spaced throughout the entire restaurant; it is said that they have more than 2,500 pictures. Restrooms feature recorded ambient sounds — women laughing and conversing in Italian in the men's room and vice-versa in the women's room.

The first restaurant was opened in the basement level of a Minneapolis apartment building in 1993. Five restaurants were operating in 1996, and 20 in 1999 when Buca, Inc. began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange. In 2002, when Vinny T's was purchased, there were 68 Buca restaurants operating around the United States.

The chain continued to grow, but began to hit some rough spots a few years later. Business losses mounted, and in 2005, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating the company over securities laws.^[3] Two top executives left the company, three Buca di Beppo sites were closed, and the company described those restaurants and the Vinny T's chain as "discontinued operations" in 4th quarter 2005 earnings statements. However, on May 22, 2006, the company announced that it would be keeping the Vinny T's stores, but converting them to Buca di Beppo locations.^[4] On September 25, 2006 Buca, Inc. sold their 11 Vinny T's of Boston restaurants to Bertucci's Corp. for $6.8 million.^[5]

On June 7, 2006, three former Buca executives were charged with stealing more than US$200,000 from the company.^[6]

In an attempt to boost sales during 2005, Buca introduced a Buca Small menu with less-expensive portions for two.^[7] Fettuccine alfredo was also introduced even though it is not a strictly Southern Italian dish.

On August 5, 2008, Planet Hollywood's parent company, Planet Hollywood International, Inc., agreed to purchase the Buca chain for US$28.5 million. Under terms of the deal, Buca became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Planet Hollywood.^[8]

In March 2009, Buca di Beppo introduced six new menu items. Guests can now order Penne San Remo, Chicken Carbonara, Penne Basilica, Shrimp Fra Diavolo, Prosciutto-Stuffed Chicken and Chianti-Braised Short Ribs.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• www.bucadibeppo.com — Buca di Beppo Web site

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