La Porchetta
Italian restaurant franchise across Australia and New Zealand.
via Wikipedia: La Porchetta · see source
La Porchetta is an Australian and New Zealand restaurant franchise that has become one of the biggest Italian restaurant chains in those countries. As of 2026, there are about 33 stores in Australia and New Zealand which are owned by franchisees.
Quick Facts
- Founded
- 14 November 1985 (Carlton, Victoria)
- Founders
- Rocco Pantaleo, Felice Nania
- Industry
- Restaurant
- Area served
- Australia and New Zealand
- Products
- Italian food
Facts from the source article.
Founding and history
Rocco Pantaleo and Felice Nania established La Porchetta in 1985 by purchasing a run-down pizza parlour of the same name on Rathdowne Street in Carlton. The first franchise restaurant opened in 1990 in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir, Victoria. Over 80 La Porchetta outlets have opened across Australia since 1990; by 2017 around 40 existed, and as of 2026 only roughly 33 stores remain across Australia and New Zealand. In August 2014, Retail Food Group, which owns Crust Pizza, Gloria Jean's coffeehouses, Donut King, Michel's Patisserie and Brumby's Bakeries, announced it would purchase La Porchetta's franchising system for $16.3 million, but pulled out three months later. The name "La Porchetta" translates directly to "The Porchetta"; porchetta commonly refers to the Italian pork roast dish, though the word actually means "small pig" or "little pork" in Italian. The business has a mascot of a stereotypical Italian man named after founder Rocco Pantaleo, with the name 'Rocky' visible on the mascot's collar.
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