Food

How Fabio Viviani is expanding his restaurant empire into the sweet side

The Italian-born chef’s newest venture is JARS, a fast-casual dessert concept ready for franchising.

Fabio Viviani is a native of Florence, Italy, where he started working in restaurant kitchens at the age of 11.

He learned the ropes of the hospitality industry by cooking in and managing Italian trattorias and restaurants, eventually moving to the U.S. when he was 27, where he opened and operated several restaurants in L.A. Over the next 15 or so years, Chef Viviani built a hospitality empire, developing more restaurants and related culinary businesses around the country in hotels, casinos, airports and freestanding locations.

His latest venture is JARS by Fabio Viviani, a fast-casual dessert concept serving more than 100 favorite desserts in single-serve grab-and-go jars.

Fabio Viviani
Fabio Viviani

Listen as Viviani talks about his colorful culinary journey and hospitality empire, his appearances on Top Chef that earned him the title of “fan favorite” and how he’s gearing up to franchise JARS now that the first location in Chicago is going strong.

Subscribe to Menu Feed on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

How Popeyes changed the chicken business

How did a once-struggling, regional bone-in chicken chain overtake KFC, the formerly dominant player in the U.S. market? With a fixation on sandwiches and many more new restaurants.

Financing

Get ready for a summertime value war

The Bottom Line: With more customers opting to eat at home, rather than at restaurants, more fast-food chains will start pushing value this summer.

Food

Inside Chili's quest to craft a value-priced burger that could take on McDonald's

Behind the Menu: How the casual-dining chain smashes expectations with a winning combination of familiarity and price with its new Big Smasher burger.

Trending

More from our partners