Michele Civiera, 45, who moved to Edinburgh from Italy when he was young, founded his Civerinos franchise back in 2014.
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A Scots entrepreneur sold his prized trainer collection and car to kickstart his dream pizza business which is now worth £10million.
Michele Civiera, 45, who moved to Edinburgh from Italy when he was young, founded his Civerinos franchise back in 2014, which has since achieved cult status in the country's capital — even being named among the UK’s top pizzas.
But the restaurateur was forced to risk it all to scrape together funds for his first eatery by selling his belongings, including his rare shoe collection.
Built up over decades, the collection included incredibly rare Nike SB dunks and original Nike Air Jordans, with the almost £10,000 raised giving the budding entrepreneur the funds he needed to buy his first pizza oven and dough mixer.
He said he had to "throw everything at the business" to get it off the ground. Almost a decade later, the NY-style pizza joint empire is on track for a £10million annual turnover and will soon employ 200 staff.
Speaking about the decision to sell his trainer collection, Michele, who previously worked in hospitality, told the Record: "The collection had taken years to build — I started in 1989 — so it was very sore to sell it.
"I was especially sad to say goodbye to my rare Nike SB dunks and original Nike Air Jordans. But starting a business is expensive so I had to throw everything I had at it to get it off the ground.
"I sold my car as well and with the money raised I was able to buy the pizza oven, dough mixer and furniture. It was scary to go all-in, but I really believed in the concept the opportunity, and myself, so I backed myself and went for it."
The first Civerinos restaurant — which remains popular to this day — is found in Hunter Square. According to Michele, but the oven back then was a single deck that could only fit three pizzas in it at a time.
He added: "I think when you put all your chips in it adds pressure, which is a good thing. There's no choice but to make it a success.
"Looking back, it was a stressful time, but it was exciting too and it simplified life — I was so focused on making it a success with far less distracting me. Now, I'm all about collecting memories rather than things."
Now living in the coastal suburb of Portobello, Michele's NY-style slice bars are on track for multi-million pound annual turnover with national expansion on the horizon.
Currently, Civerinos has four sites in Edinburgh: slice bars in Portobello and the city centre, the restaurant on Hunter Square, and a delivery kitchen that is also home to the firm’s production kitchen, training academy, and creative studio.
In September, Civerinos will open its first venue outside of Edinburgh, in Finnieston, Glasgow — which will bring the business's number of staff to nearly 200 in total. After achieving turnover of £6million in 2022, the fast-growing firm is on target for £7million this year and £10million by the end of 2024.
Michele has even unveiled a new food truck, which will soon bring the brand’s signature slices to venues and events across the UK.
He continued: "We will become a national brand in the next few years, and the best way to do that is to build demand by making sure more people have the chance to try our pizza. Eventually, we’ll have venues in almost every student town and city across the UK, but our food truck is going to blaze a trail for us first.
"Everywhere I go, I see people wearing our t-shirts. We want to build a movement of people who have a great attitude, enjoy good times and good music, and love big, tasty slices of NY-style pizza.
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"There’s a gap in the market. There are loads of amazing pizza places, but our NY-style pizzas combined with our overall vibe and attitude brings something new to the table.
"We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far, and we’re incredibly excited for what’s coming next. We are growing, and we have big ambitions.
"We are getting smarter as a business so we’re ready to scale while still providing the same quality and standards that people expect from us.
"It’s been a challenging time thanks to the pandemic, Brexit, the supply chain crisis, and everything else that’s been thrown at the hospitality industry, but now we’re stronger than ever. We’ve learned a lot and we’re ready to go."
More information can be found on the Civerinos website.
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