Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano

What Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano does

Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano, L.L.C. operates a 15-location casual Italian dining chain headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1999 by Todd Hovenden as a Northwestern Kellogg MBA business plan, the company operates entirely through company-owned units with no franchising or external institutional capital, serving individual diners, families, and event/group customers across eight Midwest states (Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Colorado). Its core offering is full-service dine-in featuring house-made pastas, soups, salads, pizza, seafood, steaks, and desserts, complemented by a complete gluten-free menu, kids menu, Happy Hour (Monday-Friday 4pm-6pm), and banquet/event services with private dining rooms at many locations. Menu pricing typically runs $7-$28 for lunch items, $17-$52 for dinner entrees, and $5-$8 for Happy Hour drinks and small bites, supporting an accessible mid-tier Italian positioning.

The company monetizes through four primary revenue streams: dine-in restaurant sales, online curbside pickup, corporate/event catering via the ezCater partnership, and physical and eGift card sales (with a 10% bonus card incentive on purchases of $1,000 or more). Supporting products include Pronto Packs — family meal kits pre-configured for 4-5 guests — and a Club Biaggi's email loyalty newsletter. Distribution is omnichannel: 15 physical locations in lifestyle/external retail centers, the proprietary order.biaggis.com portal for carryout, ezCater for corporate catering, and a company mobile app. Technology integrations are limited to standard restaurant SaaS — Rezku for reservations, ezCater for catering, Google Analytics for site measurement, CookieYes for consent, and CleanTalk for spam protection — with no AI/ML components.

Customer-facing recognition is regional but meaningful: Consumer Reports (Best Italian Chain 2012, 2016; Best Service 2011), Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph (Best Italian Restaurant 2013-2021, multiple consecutive; Best Overall Restaurant 2013-2015; Best Catering 2015-2016), Omaha Magazine (Best Gluten-Free Menu 2015, 2020, 2022), Quad-City Times (Best Italian 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019), and similar accolades from The News-Gazette, Maple Grove Magazine, and Evansville Courier & Press. The business is privately held by the founding family with no venture capital or private equity investment and no publicly disclosed revenue.

Name

Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano

Legal name

Biaggi's Italian Restaurants

Website

https://biaggis.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano is a privately held, 15-location Italian casual dining chain operating company-owned restaurants across eight Midwest states, serving families, individuals, and event groups with house-made pastas, pizza, gluten-free options, catering, and carryout.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Italian Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Caterers (72232)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family-Style Restaurants (THAFACAC)

Keywords

• Casual Italian dining
• Italian restaurant chain
• Full-service restaurants
• Catering services
• Gluten-free dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Bloomington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Sales: Full-service casual Italian dining with table service, featuring house-made pastas, soups, salads, pizza, seafood, steaks, and desserts. Revenue generated from food and beverage sales during dine-in service.
2. Carryout and Curbside Pickup: Online ordering system for carryout and curbside pickup orders, allowing customers to order ahead through the company's order portal.
3. Catering Services: Corporate and event catering through partnership with ezCater, offering party pans, appetizer trays, and full meal catering for events.
4. Gift Cards: Physical and eGift cards sold in various denominations, redeemable at any Biaggi's location. Gift card purchases of $1,000 or more receive a complimentary card valued at 10% of the purchase.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano operates a chain of 15 company-owned casual Italian restaurants across 8 Midwestern states, serving house-made pastas, soups, salads, pizza, seafood, steaks, and desserts in a full-service dine-in setting. Revenue is generated through dine-in service, curbside pickup ordered via a proprietary online platform, catering delivered through an ezCater partnership, Pronto Packs family meal bundles, private event room bookings, and gift card sales. The concept emphasizes fresh ingredients, large portions, affordable pricing, and a complete gluten-free menu.

Product overview

Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano is a casual Italian dining restaurant chain operating 15 company-owned locations across 8 Midwestern states. The core product is the dine-in restaurant experience featuring housemade Italian cuisine including pastas, pizzas, seafood, steaks, and desserts. Supporting products and services include curbside pick-up, catering through ezCater, Pronto Packs (family meal kits), private event rooms, gift cards, Club Biaggi's loyalty program, Happy Hour, and specialized menus for gluten-free and children's dining. The restaurant differentiates through affordable pricing, large portions, fresh ingredients, and monthly Chef's Features.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dine-In Restaurant Service Full-service casual Italian dining across 15 company-owned locations in 8 states, offering house-made pastas, soups, salads, pizza, seafood, steaks, and desserts with table service, full bar, and Happy Hour programming Monday-Friday 4pm-6pm.
• Curbside Pickup Online and phone ordering via order.biaggis.com enabling customers to order menu items for at-home dining and pick them up curbside at any of the 15 Biaggi's locations.
• Catering Full-service catering with party pans, appetizer trays, sandwich trays, and salad party pans offered through the ezCater partnership for online ordering with delivery options at all Biaggi's locations.
• Pronto Packs Family meal bundles sized for 4-5 people including 2 pizzas, 1 pasta or 1 entrée, choice of House or Caesar salad, and freshly-baked bread with Biaggi's Butter, for take-home dining.
• Banquet & Event Services Event planning and hosting services at many Biaggi's locations featuring semi-private partitions, customizable menus, dedicated event coordinators, drop-down projector screens, data port connectivity, and stone hearth fireplaces, with capacity 50-88 guests depending on location.
• Gift Cards Physical gift cards and eGift cards redeemable at any Biaggi's location, available in various denominations online or in restaurants. Purchases of $1,000 or more receive a complimentary card valued at 10% of the total purchase.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ezCatercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with ezCater enables corporate and event catering orders with online delivery options. Customers can order catering through ezCater's platform for pickup or delivery at various Biaggi's locations across 8 Midwest states.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bravo Cucina Italiana: Casual upscale Italian chain emphasizing scratch kitchen preparation, brick-oven pizzas, and full bar — comparable concept and dining format to Biaggi's.
• Maggiano's Little Italy (Brinker International): Full-service Italian chain (sister brand to Chili's under Brinker) emphasizing family-style dining, private event rooms, and made-from-scratch pastas — directly mirroring Biaggi's positioning.
• Olive Garden (Darden Restaurants): Largest U.S. casual Italian dining chain (~900 units). Directly competes with Biaggi's in menu architecture (pasta, chicken, seafood), price point, and family/casual dining occasion, but at vastly greater national scale.
• Carrabba's Italian Grill (Bloomin' Brands): Casual Italian chain owned by Bloomin' Brands with scratch kitchen positioning and similar mid-tier price point. Closest comparable in concept and brand promise to Biaggi's house-made Italian offering.
• Romano's Macaroni Grill: Casual Italian chain offering similar house-made pastas, wood-fired pizzas, and a comparable mid-market price point. Direct menu and experience overlap with Biaggi's.
• Buca di Beppo: Family-style Italian restaurant chain famous for large-portion, shareable platters and group/event dining — comparable to Biaggi's family-occasion and private event positioning.

Broad incumbents

• The Cheesecake Factory: Large-format casual dining chain with extensive menu and substantial private event business. Comparable in multi-occasion positioning (lunch, dinner, group events) but not Italian-specific.
• Darden Restaurants: Parent of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and other casual dining brands. Represents the scaled, multi-brand incumbent model that contrasts with Biaggi's single-brand, founder-owned structure.
• Bloomin' Brands: Multi-brand casual dining parent (Outback, Carrabba's, Bonefish, Fleming's). Demonstrates the portfolio approach to casual dining that competes with Biaggi's standalone Italian positioning.

Emerging players

• Piada Italian Street Food: Fast-casual Italian concept focused on made-to-order wraps, pasta bowls, and salads. Adjacent category that pulls traffic from casual Italian on price and speed — a structural threat to Biaggi's value proposition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/biaggis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano