Urban Outfitters will buy Vetri Familiy restaurants

Restauranteur Marc Vetri and his front-of-house partner Jeffrey Benjamin will sell their restaurant group to Urban Outfitters.

The Vetri Family, including Osteria, Amis, Alla Spina, Lo Spiedo, and Pizzeria Vetri, will be sold to the retail lifestyle giant based in Philadelphia Navy Yard by the end of the year. Vetri’s first venture, the boutique Italian restaurant called Vetri, will not be part of the sale.

Vetri Family will become a subsidiary of Urban Outfitters, or URBN, joining other retail brands Anthropologie, Terrain, and Free People. Aside from in-store cafes, this will be URBN’s only restaurant venture.

“Spending on casual dining is expanding rapidly, and thus, we believe there is tremendous opportunity to expand the Pizzeria Vetri concept,” said URBN CEO Richard Hayne.

Vetri Family has a long relationship with URBN, using its Navy Yard cafeteria for its Great Chefs charitable event, and URBN contributing to the Vetri Family non-profit foundation. Vetri and Benjamin will remain in charge of the restaurants, taking advantage of URBN’s capital and design resources.

“Through this partnership, and the experience URBN has in scaling growth opportunities, the Vetri Family will now be able to focus on what we do best – run restaurants that make people happy,” said Vetri.