Francesca’s Pizza + Sandos expands, taking over Hey Bianca shop in Brighton

An emerging Italian foodie favourite will open a second shopfront in Brighton next week.

An emerging foodie favourite will open a second shopfront in Brighton next week.

The former location of Hey Bianca on Brighton Rd at Brighton will now house Francesca’s Pizza + Sandos, with the new eatery opening its doors on Wednesday.

Co-owner Aman Takhar, one of the founders of Hey Bianca in 2017, said he jumped at the chance to expand his new business, after launching Francesca’s on Anzac Highway, Glenelg, in March.

“It’s been crazy. Glenelg’s been going really strong and now we’re starting the second one a lot quicker than we thought,” he said.

“I used to own Hey Bianca and Brighton was one of our busiest sites at that point in time.

“I know the landlord (of the space) and when he asked if I wanted the site, I said, ‘Let’s make this happen’.”

Roma Driscoll tucks into a folded-up pizza at Francesca’s at Glenelg with co-owners Aman Takhar, Nilavan Baskaran and Aiden O'Sullivan. Picture: Mark Brake

Hey Bianca, a “hole in the wall restaurant” pizza chain, quietly closed all three of its locations in the city, West Beach and Brighton earlier this month.

Mr Takhar said the Brighton area was crying out for quality Italian fare.

“Brighton is a bit of a food desert, there’s not much down here apart from Jetty Rd. Around here, you can’t get Italian sandos, or high quality pizza,” he said.

“I think customers will really love what we’re going to produce here.”

A sando from new Glenelg eatery Francesca’s. Picture: Supplied

But while Francesca’s offerings – including classic Italian sandwiches, Neapolitan-style pizza and their unique folded-up pizza, or a pizza portafoglio – have proved a hit with SA ‘aficiona-doughs’, Mr Takhar said he and business partner Nilavan Baskaran are not planning to expand further – for now.

Francesca's offers pizza and sandos. Picture: Supplied

“We’re going to do things slow and steady. We won’t take on too much, we know we can do two locations really well,” he said.

“We just want to do the best possible version of Francesca’s that we can, with the best food and the best experiences for our customers.”

“You’ve got to give customers as much value as possible. We want to give them awesome experiences because they have paid for it,” said Mr Takhar.

To celebrate the opening of Francesca’s second store, Mr Takhar said they will be offering $2 pizza a portafoglio on Wednesday, July 31, until sold out.