After writing about the expansion plans and latest financial results of the restaurant group behind Di Maggio’s and Café Andaluz, and now also Paesano and Sugo, I found myself reflecting on how far this business has come since it was founded more than four decades ago.

There was quite the buzz about the launch of Di Maggio’s back in the mid-1980s, with its Italian-American theme an eye-catching addition to the restaurant scene in Glasgow.

The DRG, as the Glasgow-based restaurant group owned by Mario Gizzi and Tony Conetta is branded these days, has had quite the journey as it has weathered recessions, the global financial crisis, Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.

To take just one of these huge challenges, Mr Conetta observed in early 2024: “Prior to Brexit, two-thirds of our staff came from overseas and predominantly from Europe. Every single hospitality business has faced the same challenges.”

Mr Gizzi highlighted major challenges faced by the hospitality sector on the costs front last week.

However, as revealed in my exclusive article in The Herald on The DRG’s latest financial results showing sharp rises in turnover and profits, he and Mr Conetta are focused on further expansion.

As well as the trials and tribulations the business has had to deal with, its journey has had many other fascinating features.

One aspect which really grabs the attention is the shrewd diversification of the business as it has expanded, including with the launch a long time ago now of the Café Andaluz Spanish tapas concept. The first Café Andaluz outlet was opened in the west end of Glasgow in 2002.

Currently, Café Andaluz is the only one of The DRG’s brands operating south of the Border. The business last week highlighted the success of this Newcastle Café Andaluz restaurant as it raised the prospect of further expansion into England.

The £16 million-plus jump in annual turnover to £66m in the year to April 27, 2025, unveiled last week, was attributed by The DRG to the Paesano and Sugo business it acquired in May 2024. This is another fine Scottish business built from scratch, in this case by Paul Stevenson, with Paesano’s pizza concept fantastically fresh when it launched in 2015 and proving highly enduring with a loyal customer base.

Mr Gizzi and Mr Conetta, who take a very hands-on role in the business, highlighted their continuing expansion ambitions for Paesano and Sugo Pasta as The DRG results were unveiled.

It was interesting to hear them characterise this expansion in a way that suggests they are determined to retain the essence of Paesano and Sugo.

The DRG, which describes itself as Scotland’s largest independent restaurant group, increased its operating profits by £1.135 million to £7.361m in the year to April 27, 2025.

It revealed last week that it is “currently exploring additional locations for new restaurants and expects to announce further new sites during 2026”.

Asked about where the expansion might come in terms of brands and geography, The DRG said: “Despite the challenges the hospitality sector faces, we are still looking to expand, focusing on Paesano, Sugo and Café Andaluz, targeting options south of the Border, building on the success of Café Andaluz in Newcastle. We’ll continue to look at options at good sites in our core cities in Scotland.”

It declared the acquisition of Paesano and Sugo had been “seamless”.

Read more:

Mr Gizzi and Mr Conetta described the three Glasgow restaurants they acquired from Mr Stevenson – two Paesano eateries and one Sugo outlet – as “hugely successful” and described the expansion of these brands on which they have since embarked as “careful and deliberate”. 

Two new Paesano pizza restaurants were launched last year – at Shawlands in Glasgow and on George Street in Edinburgh. A new Sugo Pasta eaterie will open on Cresswell Lane in the west end of Glasgow in March.  

The DRG’s co-owners were last week swift to highlight both their commitment to Mr Stevenson at the time of the 2024 acquisition and to the Paesano and Sugo team as they highlighted the importance of these brands to the recent growth and future expansion plans of the overall group.

Mr Gizzi said: “These results vindicate our commitment to Paul Stevenson, the founder of Paesano and Sugo, that we would cherish the brands he created and nurture everything that makes them so special. 

“The people we inherited, expertly led by operations manager Ricky Forleo and executive chef Tomas Drovandi, have been simply immense. They’ve worked incredibly hard and are absolutely pivotal to the realisation of our expansion strategy. There is a very exciting future ahead.”

Read more

Mr Conetta said: “The response to the new Paesano restaurants has been even better than we could have hoped for. We’re sticking to a formula that’s worked incredibly successfully for a number of years and can’t wait for the first new Sugo Pasta to open in the west end in a few weeks.  

 “As well as bringing fabulous food and a brilliant atmosphere to thousands of our customers, these new restaurants also mean more jobs, more promotions and more opportunities to help develop careers. It’s a virtuous circle.”

The DRG has seven Café Andaluz tapas outlets, three Di Maggio’s Italian-American restaurants as well as two food court locations operating under this brand, and three Amarone eateries. It currently has four Paesano restaurants and one Sugo Pasta outlet. Its portfolio also includes The Anchor Line, Atlantic Brasserie, The Citizen and Barolo in Glasgow, and Cadiz in Edinburgh.

Of the group’s restaurants, 15 are in Glasgow and six in Edinburgh, with three in Aberdeen and one in Newcastle.

This portfolio of brands and standalone restaurants, as well as The DRG’s major presence across Scotland’s three biggest cities, its move into England, and further plans for expansion, show how the group has not only endured difficult conditions and huge turbulence but thrived in spite of these troubles. So do the financial results of course.

Paesano and Sugo are exciting additions, and it looks like things are going well so far in preserving what makes these energetic restaurant concepts what they are, as The DRG continues its own exciting story.