EL&N. All day dining, all day “instagramming”
We met Maurizio Raviolo, 56, CEO and partner, together with Barbara Balistrerie, of 4 Food, a company that manages the brand development of the famous English coffee shop EL&N in Italy. A pleasant chat at a table in the new flagship store in Piazza Gae Aulenti, enlivened by the tasting of some unforgettable delicacies, during which Maurizio tells us about himself and the bold challenge he has launched to the market in the world home of food and beverage.
Maurizio Raviolo: I grew up in large-scale distribution, then in the so-called ho.re.ca. – hotellerie-restaurant-café, as project manager of Ca’Puccino in Italy and London and then, in 2016, bringing the Asian cuisine of Wagamama to Italy together with the Percassi family. EL&N from London had already opened in Paris, in La Fayette, but looked to Italy with interest, as a springboard, because if it works here then it works in the world. They contacted us and we immediately understood the enormous potential of the most Instagrammed coffee shop on the planet and its healthy offering with quality ingredients for every moment of the day. So we opened the first store in Milan in Piazza Liberty, immediately achieving great success and, in December 2022, also in Gae Aulenti.
P.N.: Did you already know EL&N before you contacted us?
M.R.: We often travel to London, whose food market, despite the slowdowns due to the pandemic and Brexit, remains twenty years ahead of the rest of the world in terms of the evolution of restaurant trends, and is also an absolute point of reference for coffee shops, think of the historic brands Cafe Nero and Starbucks. Now the trend is to return to small coffee shops, with specialty coffee, a few points of sale, a bit like before the boom of big brands that is only now taking hold in Italy. EL&N is young, already when it was founded in 2017, we knew it could work in our country also because of its very “social” approach.
P.N.: Coffee shops have a long tradition in our country, think of the historic “Italian cafes” of the early twentieth century, still present in Milan and Turin. How does EL&N compare to these? Does it represent their evolution or is it simply “other”?
M.R.: For the menu and brand recognition, EL&N is experienced as a pastry shop and café serving sweet and savory dishes, for every occasion of the day, in a “special” location. The right definition is “all day dining”. The imprint of its inventor, the London fashion blogger Alessandra Miller, can be found in the particularity of the furnishings and in the mood and colors of the spaces, created precisely as the perfect setting for taking selfies and photos. In addition to the design of the place, the brand identity is also expressed by the menu, healthy and high-quality, 90% faithful to the original, with very good and well-made non-alcoholic drinks and certified coffees. We do not compare ourselves to traditional cafés because people also come for the experience offered by the location, as demonstrated by the average stay of our customers, which can reach an hour.
P.N.: Are the delicacies that I can taste in Milan the same as those on the menu of the Doha store or are there variations based on the culture of the individual country?
M.R.: The menu is generally the same, with the appropriate changes to align it with local customs, habits and religions. We also have some vegetarian options and a gluten-free cake, while we are still working on the vegan option to ensure its excellence.
P.N.: What are your best sellers among pastries, coffee shops, food and beverages at various times of the day?
M.R.: At breakfast the winning combination is cappuccino, or our special milks, with croissants with chocolate or pistachio ganache, if we go international the Benedictine eggs are a must. At lunch our burgers and club sandwiches win. In the afternoon, of course, cakes, such as the beetroot-based red velvet, the caramel financier combined with mocktails such as the non-alcoholic mohito, also based on passion fruit, with ingredients that the customer can assemble at the table by changing the colors of the drink (all natural). In the evening the lunch menu continues, usually with the addition of the final dessert.
P.N.: The element that most distinguishes you all over the world is your recognizable interior decor, with those floral wallpapers and the predominance of pink that recalls a wedding favor and that lends itself to being photographed. Do your customers know they are in a living IG hotspot?
M.R.: Generally everyone already knows us, today for example here in Gae Aulenti a group of girls all dressed in pink arrived to take pictures! Everything here lends itself to being photographed, including the dishes because they are very garnished and well presented. But all our locations have various predefined IG points, in Liberty we have a swing, in Gae Aulenti a canopy that recalls Juliet’s balcony.
P.N.: Do you have a “typical” clientele also based on the neighborhood or is it transversal? And what are the busiest times of the day?
M.R.: Customers of all ages, types and origins. In Liberty we are strong in the morning with breakfasts at the table for tourists while Gae Aulenti is more Milanese, with quick drinks at the counter, that’s why we made it bigger. We also do grab and go, much loved by those who work in Portanuova. In Liberty on Saturdays and Sundays we have a constant queue from morning to night even when it rains, Gae Aulenti is new but it promises well.
P.N.: Thanks to the contact with greenery, Portanuova in the summer is a hotbed of outdoor events of all kinds. And it is also an open-air stage that is photographed and shared on social media by thousands of people every day. Do you plan to join this phenomenon with some “outdoor” initiatives?
M.R.: Soon we will put the outdoor area outside, then we plan some events in the square tying in with those of the city.
P.N.: How does EL&N position itself with respect to environmental sustainability?
M.R.: We do everything we can to limit our impact on the environment, from paper straws to recycled packaging, to the use of low-energy light bulbs and eco-leather for furnishings.
P.N.: What do EL&N and Portanuova have in common?
M.R.: Well, sustainability aside, they are definitely two of the most photographed and instagrammed locations in Milan.
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