Marcos Spaziani is a well-known chef and restaurateur based in Italy. He has gained fame for his innovative Italian cuisine and unique restaurant concepts. Many people are curious whether Spaziani currently owns or operates any restaurants.
Marcos Spaziani’s Background
Marcos Spaziani was born in 1956 in the town of Cervia in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. From a young age, he developed a passion for cooking and pursued culinary arts studies after finishing school. In the late 1970s, Spaziani moved to Milan to work under renowned chef Gualtiero Marchesi at his eponymous restaurant. This experience helped shape Spaziani’s culinary style and gave him expertise in refined Italian cuisine.
In the 1980s, Spaziani embarked on his independent culinary career by opening his first restaurant, Ristorante Spaziani, in Reggio Emilia. The restaurant earned critical acclaim for its innovative take on regional Italian cooking. This success enabled Spaziani to open more restaurants in northern Italy throughout the 80s and 90s. Each new restaurant featured his creative brand of Italian cuisine blended with global influences.
By the late 1990s, Marcos Spaziani had become one of Italy’s most famous chefs. He had published several cookbooks, hosted television shows, and even exported his Spaziani brand to restaurants abroad. However, his rapid expansion led to over-extension. By the early 2000s, Spaziani was forced to close many of his restaurants due to financial issues.
Spaziani’s Recent Projects
After a period of downsizing his restaurant empire, Marcos Spaziani began opening new dining concepts in the 2010s. These include:
- Spazio Milano (opened 2011) – A fine dining restaurant in Milan showcasing modern Italian cuisine.
- Osteria Emilia (opened 2012) – A casual Emilia-Romagna focused restaurant located in Bologna.
- Mercato Centrale Spaziani (opened 2014) – A gourmet food market stall featuring fresh pasta dishes in Florence.
- Cibo Divino (opened 2015) – A wine bar and small plates venue located in Rome.
In addition to physical restaurants, Spaziani launched a successful line of luxury frozen Italian entrées in 2013. He also began hosting live online cooking classes and demonstrations in 2020 to engage with fans during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Does Spaziani Currently Own a Restaurant?
Based on his recent projects and activities, it appears Marcos Spaziani is still active in the restaurant industry, though on a smaller scale than at the height of his career. Reports indicate he currently owns and operates two main restaurants:
- Spazio Milano – His fine dining establishment in Milan seems to remain in operation and earned a Michelin star in 2018.
- Osteria Emilia – His Bologna-based restaurant also remains open and recently underwent renovations in 2022.
In addition to these two flagship locations, Spaziani may retain involvement in a couple of other smaller restaurant concepts in Italy. However, it seems he has stepped back from directly managing most day-to-day restaurant operations at this stage of his career.
Spaziani does seem to remain active in promotional appearances, cooking demonstrations, and developing consumer products to promote his brand. But his hands-on role running multiple restaurants has downsized significantly from his peak in the 1990s. His focus now seems to be on nurturing his two remaining premier restaurants and leveraging his celebrity chef status to connect with audiences in new ways.
Summary of Spaziani’s Current Restaurant Status
To summarize the key facts:
- Marcos Spaziani was once Italy’s most famous chef with dozens of restaurants
- Financial issues forced him to close many of these in the early 2000s
- He has opened a handful of new concepts over the past decade
- It appears only two restaurants remain fully under Spaziani’s ownership and active management:
- Spazio Milano (fine dining in Milan)
- Osteria Emilia (casual dining in Bologna)
- He may be involved in one or two other small dining concepts
- Much of his focus now is on branding, promotions, and online opportunities
So in summary – yes, Marcos Spaziani does still have at least two major restaurants currently operating under his ownership and occasional direct management. However, his hands-on role has downsized as he has transitioned to more of a celebrity chef and promoter, rather than multi-restaurant owner-operator. But his flagship restaurants in Milan and Bologna demonstrate that his culinary creativity remains alive and well.
Significance of Spaziani’s Continued Restaurant Presence
The fact that Marcos Spaziani has managed to keep two successful restaurants open through the ups and downs of his career shows his resilience and adaptability as a chef. Many other chefs with once-sprawling empires have failed to sustain even a single restaurant after their decline. Spaziani’s ability to consolidate his vision into a couple of sustainable concepts has allowed him to stay relevant in the dining world.
His restaurants also represent his cooking style and philosophy. By keeping these flagship locations open, Spaziani ensures that diners can continue to experience his unique blend of tradition and innovation. These outposts are culinary embodiments of his lasting contributions to Italian cuisine.
Furthermore, the presence of Spaziani’s restaurants helps elevate the status of their local dining scenes. Spazio Milano’s Michelin star attracts gourmands to Milan, while Osteria Emilia brings buzz to the Bologna food community. Having Spaziani’s name attached draws interest from consumers and critics alike.
So although Marcos Spaziani’s restaurant empire has contracted, he has managed to retain a foothold in the dining world through strategic downsizing. His lasting restaurants continue to promote his reputation and demonstrate his ongoing role at the forefront of Italian cuisine in the 21st century.
Inside Spaziani’s Enduring Restaurants
Spazio Milano
Marcos Spaziani’s fine dining restaurant in Milan’s Porta Nuova district provides insight into his enduring culinary vision. Some key details on Spazio Milano include:
- Multi-course modern Italian tasting menus range from €120-180 for dinner.
- The sleek, minimalist dining room seats just 30 guests for an intimate experience.
- Spaziani’s dishes expertly blend traditional and contemporary flavors, textures, and techniques.
- Signatures include Risotto with Saffron and Bone Marrow and Turbot with Langoustine Sauce.
- The wine list features over 500 labels with a focus on small Italian producers.
- Dining at Spazio Milano earned a Michelin star starting in 2018.
Reviews indicate Spazio Milano remains at the cutting edge of Italian fine dining thanks to Spaziani’s continuing hands-on innovation in the kitchen. Diners experience his creativity through a procession of artfully crafted dishes in an exclusive setting.
Osteria Emilia
In contrast to Spazio Milano’s fine dining, Osteria Emilia provides a more casual, regional Italian experience reflective of Spaziani’s roots. Details on this Bologna restaurant include:
- A rustic and lively dining room with approximately 50 seats.
- Menu focuses on classic dishes from Emilia-Romagna like tagliatelle Bolognese.
- Average entrées priced around €15-25 showcasing local, seasonal ingredients.
- Extensive list of regional wines, craft beers, and artisanal Italian cocktails.
- Dishes like Piadina Romagnola and Passatelli in Brodo highlight Spaziani’s mastery of Italian comfort cuisine.
- Recent redesign kept the cozy charm while modernizing the space.
Osteria Emilia demonstrates Marcos Spaziani’s versatility through his ability to execute refined regional Italian cooking in a relaxed setting. The menu celebrates tradition while ingredient choices and flavor profiles speak to Spaziani’s culinary prowess.
Spaziani’s Foreign Restaurant Ventures
In addition to his domestic restaurants in Italy, Marcos Spaziani has undertaken some overseas restaurant projects as part of his international expansion efforts.
Former U.S. Restaurants
Spaziani debuted in the U.S. dining scene with two restaurants:
- Spaziani New York (opened 2000) – Upscale Italian restaurant located in Midtown Manhattan. It closed in 2008 after receiving mixed reviews.
- Spaziani Miami (opened 2003) – Art deco style Italian restaurant located at the Forge hotel on Miami Beach. It closed in 2012 during the hotel’s sale and renovations.
Both Spaziani’s U.S. restaurants ultimately struggled to find an audience. Critics suggested they lacked the refined authenticity of his Italian venues. Their closures corresponded with Spaziani’s wider financial issues in the 2000s leading to his period of restaurant downsizing.
Current International Ventures
Marcos Spaziani does still have two international restaurant projects that remain in operation:
- Spaziani Seoul (opened 2010) – Modern Italian dining at the Lotte Hotel in the South Korean capital.
- Spazio Dubai (opened 2017) – Fine dining concept on the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa tower.
Both Spaziani’s Asian restaurants offer views and luxury settings to attract well-heeled expatriate diners. He employs local chefs to recreate his Italian dishes for these markets. Though not directly overseen by Spaziani himself, these locations expand his brand’s international reach.
Spaziani’s Closed Restaurants
At the peak of his 1990s expansion, Marcos Spaziani’s restaurant group is estimated to have included over 20 establishments across Italy. Many have now closed, often being converted to other dining concepts. Some of Spaziani’s notable now-shuttered restaurants include:
| Restaurant | Location | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ristorante Spaziani | Reggio Emilia | 1981 | 1999 |
| Spaziani Verona | Verona | 1989 | 2005 |
| Spaziani Venezia | Venice | 1992 | 2008 |
| Spaziani Torino | Turin | 1994 | 2010 |
| Spaziani Palermo | Palermo | 1998 | 2017 |
The closures were generally driven by company-wide financial difficulties and Spaziani’s strategic decision to downsize. In some cases, other restaurateurs have reopened the spaces under new names and concepts. But most traces of the original Spaziani establishments are now gone beyond their place in his culinary history.
Spaziani Brand Food Products
In addition to dining destinations, Marcos Spaziani has created a successful range of retail food products sold internationally under his brand name. These allow consumers to enjoy his flavors at home:
- Spaziani Frozen Meals – Upscale prepared Italian entrées made with premium ingredients.
- Spaziani Pastas – Fresh and dried pasta sauces, gnocchi, and ravioli featuring Spaziani’s recipes.
- Spaziani Olive Oil – Single estate extra virgin olive oil from Spaziani’s familial groves in Emilia-Romagna.
- Spaziani Balsamic Vinegar – High quality aged balsamic vinegar blended by Spaziani.
By lending his name to these grocery products, Marcos Spaziani has found a profitable way to expand his brand beyond the traditional restaurant space. Home cooks can now integrate his expertise into their own kitchens.
Spaziani’s Restaurant Legacy
While Marcos Spaziani’s restaurant empire has downsized over the decades, his profound influence on contemporary Italian cuisine remains. Some of his key legacies include:
- Blending innovation and tradition to redefine regional cooking.
- Introducing a lighter, more modern Italian fare compared to heavier classics.
- Perfecting progressive cooking techniques from sous vide to molecular gastronomy.
- Highlighting niche indigenous ingredients from across Italy’s diverse regions.
- Opening Italy’s dining scene to global influences, flavors and presentation.
- Inspiring a generation of rising Italian chefs to be creative, not restrained by tradition.
- Showcasing the excellence of Italian cuisine worldwide through his international outposts.
The enduring success of Spaziani’s restaurants proves he sparked a long-lasting shift in how Italian food is perceived, prepared and presented. His fresh approach helped liberate Italian cuisine from strict tradition while still respecting its roots. This inventive spirit lives on in today’s new generation of Italian chefs who found inspiration in Spaziani’s pioneering vision.
Future of Spaziani’s Restaurant Group
As he advances in his career, speculation continues around the future of Marcos Spaziani’s remaining restaurants. Several possible directions include:
- Status Quo – He may continue gradually reducing his portfolio while still staying involved at Spazio Milano and Osteria Emilia.
- Complete Sale – At age 67, Spaziani could opt to fully sell his last restaurants to new owners and retire.
- Family Transition – With his son now working alongside him, Spaziani may plan to hand over his restaurants for the next generation.
- Re-expansion – He could leverage his celebrity profile to secure financing and open new restaurant concepts again.
Of course, Spaziani may also surprise the culinary world with an unexpected development not yet on the radar. Regardless, his proven skill and passion for restaurant creation suggest he still has much to contribute to the global dining scene – even if his venue ownership continues to decentralize.
Conclusion
Marcos Spaziani undoubtedly reached incredible heights over his multi-decade culinary career. While financial issues forced him to close the majority of his restaurants, his enduring success at keeping his two flagships open demonstrates his staying power. Spazio Milano and Osteria Emilia not only serve excellent food, but also his larger legacy as an innovator within Italian cuisine.
By combining tradition and creativity, Spaziani redefined how Italian chefs approach regional cooking. His vision touched diners worldwide through international expansions and brand products that still bear his name. So although his restaurant empire has downsized, the Spaziani influence remains in any kitchen where an Italian chef infuses a dish with inventive spirit and respect for heritage.
