Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jon Robinson

Teenager with just £12 in his pocket went on to make San Carlo a celebrity success story

One of Manchester's most successful and well-known restaurant chains has hailed record sales after recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

San Carlo has also returned to the black for the first time since 2019 and is setting its sights on further expansion. The group already has restaurants across the UK and in Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar and is now eyeing new openings in Dubai and Miami.

San Carlo was founded by Carlo Distefano who came to Britain from Sicily in 1962. Aged just 17, all he had was £12 in his pocket, a work permit and a promise of a job at a barbershop.

Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features.

By the time he was 20, the self-confessed workaholic had opened his first joint business venture, a hairdressing salon in Leeds, while he also had interests in a coffee bar and disco.

Any free time he had, when he wasn't working seven days a week, was spent in some of London's top restaurants including the Savoy, the Dorchester and Simpsons.

Marcello DiStefano (L), Managing Director at San Carlo Restaurant Group, and his father Carlo Distefano (R), who founded the business, at San Carlo, Manchester (Jon Baxter)

Taking inspiration from his experiences there, Mr Distefano opened his first restaurant in Birmingham in 1992. A second site was opened in Bristol in 1996, followed by Leicester and then Manchester. The roaring success of the Manchester venue would be a turning point for the group, quickly cementing a reputation as the place celebrities wanted to eat - and be seen at.

Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link

The group now has restaurants across the UK - including in Liverpool, Cheshire, London and Leeds.

According to its latest financial accounts, for the 12 months to September 24, 2022, the group's sales surged from almost £30m to nearly £70m.

It also returned to the black for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, achieving a pre-tax profit of £3.5m, up from a loss of £956,590 last year.

The average number of people employed by San Carlo in the year also jumped from 806 to 1,075. In the last full year before the pandemic, the company employed an average of 1,025 people.

Commenting on its latest financial success, the company said: "Having had the previous two financial years seriously impacted by the Covid pandemic, the directors are delighted with this year's results.

"Post year-end, the business continues to grow and has acquired a site in Alderley Edge as well as recently completing a major refurbishment of the San Carlo site in Liverpool."

San Carlo is headquartered in Manchester and earlier this year, it relocated its base to Arkwright House in Parsonage Gardens. The Manchester venue has long-enjoyed a reputation as a venue loved by famous faces.

Clientele at Manchester's King Street West venue over the years

has included a host of Premier League footballers, touring pop stars, Hollywood actors, presenters and soap stars.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.