Founder, chef and CEO Adriano Paganini says Pomodoro's updated menu and decor better reflect the concept's high-quality yet approachable style. Read or listen to an extended interview with Adriano Paganini.

Why did you decide to revamp the Pasta Pomodoro brand?

I decided to take the “Pasta” off the name because our menu has been offering more than pasta for over five years. But I still encounter people that may or may not come because they think we only have pasta. We have a wide selection of salads and paninis and entrees and proteins and chicken and salmon.

How has the menu changed?

We have upgraded basically all of our ingredients. Just to give you an example, we went from regular chicken to local Fulton Valley free-range chicken.

Then we added a few dishes. One I wanted to add for a long time was the risotto. Since I am from Milan, the risotto is a very traditional dish in Milan. And I was kind of staying away from the dish because it is a little bit difficult to execute, but I was finally able to get it down to be executable for 43 locations.

I heard you were also testing half portions as well.

The menu has got half portions, too, for most of the pasta. And I think it is a new trend and I think it is an important trend, at least in urban areas, where our guest doesn't seem necessarily excited about getting a huge plate of food and then eating half of it and then throwing away the rest or taking it home and then throwing it away at home. People seem to prefer to order what they're going to eat instead of too much.

The additional flexibility is in the fact that you may try something that you never tried before if you don't have to commit to a full entree portion.

How does the new wine program complement the new menu?

We are serving now mostly wine from Italy. They're mostly from very small or smaller, medium—but not large—but very reputable wineries that are not quite as well-known here. You're not going to find it everywhere. So it's a little bit more exciting for the guest to be able to choose and find something that is not quite as common.

What about the new decor?

We have done a little bit of a refresher. We have added some additional graphics and additional new branding elements. We have changed our uniform [to be more casual]. It's not a complete change.

What results have you seen so far with this new menu and decor?

Overall we have seen better sales in the [13] units [where] we have done the changes than in the others.

Did you want to bring in new customers?

It's a combination: to bring in new customers just as much as to bring in the customers that are coming in more often or get them to spend a little bit more money if it's at all possible. But my choice is to bring them in more often than to get them to spend more money.