The Finnish fast food firm is set to open its first outlet in Italy in the city of Matera next month.
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File photo of a Hesburger outlet in Helsinki. Image: Riikka Kurki / Yle
Finnish fast food chain Hesburger is expanding into Italy, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica has reported.
It said Hesburger will open its first Italian outlet in the city of Matera, in the Basilicata region of southern Italy, during the month of October, according to the report.
Hesburger’s Italian rollout comes in the wake of a similar move by US burger giant McDonald’s, which is also opening a restaurant in the city.
La Repubblica notes that the imminent arrival of two fast food restaurants in Matera, a city long considered a bastion of Italian food culture, has split local opinion.
Calling Hesburger’s move to the city “sensational”, the newspaper speculated that Matera’s links to Hesburger may have been forged by the European Capitals of Culture initiative.
Turku, the birthplace of Hesburger in 1980, was a culture capital in 2011 and strongly backed Matera’s successful bid in 2019.
In recent years, Hesburger has also opened its first outlets in countries such as Romania and Poland.
Tabloid Iltalehti was the first news outlet in Finland to report Hesburger’s Italian expansion.
