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John Ferdimmdi and his family have been involved with pizza restaurants since 1955. Starting out as Me-n-F.d's Pizzeria franchisees, the Ferdinand! family eventually grew die business to include a portfolio of concepts and the business evolved into Milano Restaurants International Corporation. In 1995, Ferdinandi and his brother John took over their family's Fresno, Calif.based Milano Restaurant, which has blossomed into a multi-concept operation with 5 distinct restaurant brands and more than 70 locations nationwide.
Most recently, die team launched a new fast-casual pizza and self-pour beer concept, Blast & Brew. The brand has alreadyinked a deal with franchisee Cristallo Ventures LLC to open 12 units in California over the next eight years in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo.
FE&S: When did Blast & Brew open and how did you come up with the idea?
JF: We opened Blast & Brew in May 2013 as a single conversion unit. We had an existing pizza-by-the-slice operation, but after a lot ofR&D, we changed the concept to Blast & Brew. With the new concept, our guests have complete customization of their pizza - they choose the crust and then an array' of toppings before the pizza is fired and handed to them in minutes.
FE&S: I Iowr does the self-pour beer program w'ork?
JF: With the self-pour system, the restaurant...