Beer, food and happiness: this is the promise of Doppio Malto, an Italian brewery and restaurant chain that has opened a new location in Modena, the fifth in the region. The brand's mission is to offer not only excellent craft beer, produced in its own plant in Iglesias, Sardinia, but also the unique atmosphere of a happy place, where there is no shortage of billiards, table football and many other entertainment available to adults and children.

The development of the format is also based on the franchising formula, with partner entrepreneurs who decide to support the brand. This is also the case of the new location in Modena, managed by Gianluca D'Ignoto , administrator of DM California Srl, who EFA News met on the occasion of the opening of the new location

In just a few years, Doppio Malto has reached the milestone of 45 locations in Italy and three abroad: to understand the secret of this success and effective positioning in the crowded casual dining market, EFA News interviewed the founder and CEO Giovanni Porcu.

"More than a secret - Porcu points out - I would say that Doppio Malto is the result of a series of right intuitions at the right times. Doppio Malto's strong point is that it started from a fast casual with beer at the center and invented the "happy casual": a format in which games and fun are not an extra proposition, but the very heart of the customer experience. Play areas, original mise en place, schedules of events enrich in a different way an always lively space. This is the formula of what we define as a happy place. It is therefore an "experiential heart" that makes the format interesting and flexible: it works in Fiumicino, where passengers waiting to board drink a beer and can play with our giant chess and it works in Milan at the Bicocca Village, where we have integrated a street soccer field into the play area of the venue, together with the now classic - but never predictable - foosball, billiards and ping pong table. This is what allows us to differentiate ourselves in the casual market dining. Returning to the beginning: there is no secret to success, but there are good intuitions and the ability to transform them into concrete results".

Speaking of competition, in Modena you opened in an area with a lot of venues, why this choice? What are the next openings planned?

Yes, in Modena we are in via Emilia Est and where a sort of “food district” has been created. As I was saying, competition is always good. In this case, it is good for us to be in an area where people are already used to going when they want to eat a certain type of food. Our job is to differentiate ourselves and push customers to choose us when they want to spend a different evening. There are now about fifty venues between Italy and France and from experience we know that the location is very important. Doppio Malto works in city locations, in high-positioned shopping centers and also in travel retail.

We have many openings in the pipeline in Italy such as Rende, Venice airport, Cusago, Pavia, Monza, Rome, Cagliari, Bolzano, Florence. Next year will also be very important for development in France, with a beautiful opening in Nice in spring at the CAP3000 shopping center, one of the most beautiful in Europe, and other openings, both directly managed and franchised, in Lyon, Montpellier and Laval.

How is Doppio Malto's food and beverage offering characterized?

At the heart of it all is of course beer, produced in the Doppio Malto brewery in Sardinia and proudly artisanal. We offer over 14 different types plus seasonal ones, but we are not “obsessed” with beer. We are proudly generalists: we do not address a niche of enthusiasts but anyone who wants to indulge in a moment of leisure and pleasure, to which beer, food and in general our place are the perfect accompaniment. I make this premise to explain why ours is a broad menu and far from that of the classic “beer bars with cuisine”. We have created proposals that draw on Italian tradition and reinterpret it in a creative way. From Abruzzo arrosticini to burrata with Sardinian guttiau bread, through pizza margherita with Bella Lodi cheese, pasta alla parmigiana and then grilled meat, burgers and obviously a nice selection of desserts, where the sbrisolona mantovana, the birramisù and the brand new beer ice cream stand out. For each dish we suggest the best beer pairing. Beer pairing is essential because we know we have the right beer for every dish.

Do you have loyalty programs to retain customers?

We are working on a program that will be launched during 2025. We are guided by an awareness: loyalty is useful for knowing customers and having more tools to pamper them and make them feel special. It will not be the loyalty we have in mind, a carnet of special offers but a program of surprises and pampering dedicated to those who choose Doppio Malto.

Watch the video :