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MINNEAPOLIS - Buca di Beppo, a family-style "immigrant Italian" concept, is seeking more stomachs to fill with its huge portions as it expands beyond its home base.
Now headed by Joseph Micatrotto, a veteran of California-based Panda Management and Tex-Mex dinner-house operator Chi-Chi's, Buca di Beppo, which means "Joe's cave," recently opened two units in the Chicago market following debuts of other units on the West Coast, including Palo Alto, Calif., and Seattle. With eight restaurants already operating, plans call for a total of 12 by year-end.
"It's a big test for us in Chicago. Chicago is as good a restaurant town as there is in the world," Micatrotto said. 'hey will sniff you out if they think you are phony."
Alan Hickok, a restaurant analyst with Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis, and a regular Buca customer, agreed. "The big test comes when you go outside your boundaries of origin. They went to Milwaukee and Palo Alto. They have become one of the places to be, and Palo Alto is a tough market."
Hickok predicted that Buca would succeed in new, far-flung markets. "I think there aren't that many clever and...