Cibo Espresso stores to double after Retail Zoo buys out SA cafe chain and looks to expand interstate

THE number of Cibo Espresso stores could double in the next year after Retail Zoo bought the popular cafe chain in a deal that will see it expand interstate.

THE number of Cibo Espresso stores could double in the next year after Retail Zoo bought the popular cafe chain in a deal that will see it expand interstate.

Adelaide-based Cibo Espresso has signed a deal with Retail Zoo, believed to be worth about $15 million, which will result in the parent company of Boost Juice and Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill acquiring all Cibo Espresso stores. 

Cibo Espresso founders Roberto Cardone, Angelo Inglese, Salvatore Pepe and Claudio Ferraro will still own and operate the company's SPQR Holdings food business, which produces exclusively for the Cibo Espresso stores.

Mr Cardone will also continue to manage the retail store business.

Retail Zoo chief executive Jeff Allis said the firm expected to "potentially double" the number of Cibo Espresso stores in the next 12 months as a result of the interstate expansion. "We'd expect Cibo to be growing rapidly," he said.

Cibo Espresso currently has 18 stores in Adelaide and two in Brisbane. It plans to open a new Adelaide store in January, while two more stores will open in Brisbane early next year.

Mr Allis said the focus would be on expanding in Queensland and Victoria first, with a number of sites already identified.

However, it is also looking at opportunities in other states, as well as overseas. Boost Juice has operations in 15 countries.

Cibo Espresso was launched in Adelaide in 2000 with the aim of offering an authentic Italian coffee bar experience.

Mr Cardone said the company had begun talking to Retail Zoo in 2007 about its expansion plans, and had come to the decision it would need to utilise the larger company's management and franchise experience if Cibo was to successfully grow beyond its South Australian base. 

"We anticipate it will ... lead to an increase in jobs and trade with South Australian businesses, while at the same time the Cibo Espresso brand will be retained, strengthened and expanded," he said. 

Regular Cibo Espresso customer Angela Olofsson said she was a big fan of the cafe chain.

She loved its atmosphere and it was one of the few places that made coffee just the way she liked it.

"I love the taste of their coffee and their service is really good," she said.