LA's Maccheroni Republic Wants to Be the Next Olive Garden

Maccheroni Republic has been a populist hit ever since it opened in Historic Core in Downtown, but Roy Yamaguchi sees even more potential in the house-made pasta concept. The LA Times reports that Yamaguchi, who founded the high-end Roy's restaurants in Hawaii and other states, is helping Jean Louis de Mori and Antonio Tomassi open up to six outlets in the Hawaiian islands, with plans to expand beyond the U.S. At the moment, the those expansions could even reach China, Korea, and Japan.

De Mori and Tomassi helped opened everything from Locanda Veneta on West Third to Ca' Brea on La Brea before launching the ever-crowded Maccheroni Republic in early 2013. The idea is to keep the new locations as close to the original as possible, though local ingredients could come into play. With prices staying under $20 and average $15 per plate of pasta, Maccheroni Republic could very well be the next Olive Garden, especially overseas.