Il Fornaio announced the promotion of president and Chief Operating Officer, Michael Beatrice, to the position of Chief Executive Officer for the authentic Italian restaurant brand. Beatrice has been with Il Fornaio for the past 24 years, with the last 16 years, serving as president and COO. Il Fornaio operates 20 full-service, authentic Italian restaurants in California (17), Nevada (two), and Colorado (one).

Eighteen locations are Il Fornaio, with two under the Canaletto Ristorante Veneto title. At the beginning of October 2019, Create Restaurant Holdings, Tokyo, purchased Il Fornaio with Il Fornaio being separated from Corner Bakery as part of the deal.

With the purchase of Il Fornaio and now the promotion of Michael Beatrice to CEO, Jun Kawai, Executive Managing Director of Create Restaurants Group, says: “We are extremely fortunate and happy to appoint Mike as the CEO of Il Fornaio. Over the past four months following the acquisition, we had the pleasure of witnessing his uncanny leadership skills. Mike has instilled the right culture and system within Il Fornaio. We believe having him as a CEO will ensure continuity to what made Il Fornaio great. Create Restaurants Group is looking forward to working with Mike and the rest of the Il Fornaio team to take the brand to the next stage