JS: People like to enjoy Nutella at home, but then you came up with the concept of the Nutella Café, which lets you treat yourself while you’re sitting watching people walk the Mag Mile, or after a hard day of shopping, it's probably nice to come in here and get some treats. I’m wondering if you could tell us about the concept, how it got started, how it's evolved, and what a Nutella-loving visitor might see when they step inside.

RF: The Nutella Café concept was an idea to bring Nutella as close to the consumer as possible. Obviously people can buy Nutella and use it at home, but we wanted to give them an elevated experience with different recipes to show them the breadth of what Nutella could be put on, put in, put next to. 

A lot of our recipes here start with what you would eat at breakfast—crepes, pancakes, waffles, a croissant with Nutella—and the Café itself is designed to immerse the consumer, a Nutella lover, into something like a jar of Nutella. Everything is iconic and around the jar. We've got our new merchandise kiosks that are in the shape of a Nutella jar. We've got the ceiling, which replicates the swirl of Nutella on your pancake. We've got the Nutella accent wall here and down below that you can have your Instagramable moments in front of.

We’ve added, with our partners at Vero Gelato,  some more gelato flavors—they’re great partners of ours. We've added some new danishes and pastries—if you want to just order and grab on the go, it’s easier to do. Today, we showcased a mango passionfruit Danish with Nutella on it, and it’s super indulgent but a great item for ease of carrying out.

JS: The Café has been here about 10 years, but now you’ve given it a makeover. Could you tell me a little bit about the reasons for the makeover, some of the things you thought needed freshening up, and what the new refreshed look of the cafe includes?

Photo: Jenni Spinner

RF: Since opening, we estimate we've had about 4 million plus people walk through. As great as the original design was, and it was awesome, it was time to modernize and become more efficient. It was time to make it so that the consumer path and how they travel through the restaurant was easier. For example, we really didn't even have an area for merchandise, and merchandise is one of our biggest things. We set up a new area for personalized jars. We have the at-table ordering now, where you use a QR code to order, pay, and get the food delivered to you. It’s a whole concept around making it easier to get a table and not wait in line, buy merchandise easier, and have a nice open space that's more comfortable with the banquettes, the table, new tables, new chairs, on top of the overall decor and the refresh of all the parts.

JS: I used to work about three blocks from the Café, and one of the reasons why I didn’t stop here more often because it’s a popular destination. Tourists can wait in line for their treats patiently, or sit at the tables to eat and chat, but I didn’t have the time.

RF: It’s about modernizing our technology and making it easier for the customer to enjoy rather than go through such a hassle to get in order. We're really excited about those new features.

JS: You talked a little about the menu items—could you share some highlights and what you were aiming for when you added the new things?

RF: You’ve got your favorites—the best-selling thing on the menu since opening has been the crepe with Nutella. The great thing about the favorites like the crepe, pancake, or waffle is you can customize how you want. You want strawberries and bananas? Get strawberries and bananas. You want a single serving of Nutella? Get that. You want more Nutella? We'll get you more Nutella. You want whipped topping on it or gelato? You get gelato.

Then, we wanted to amplify the bakery choices—that was a big thing—and the specialty and dessert choices, so you're going to see a rotation of new products. In the fall, you're going to see pumpkin. In the winter, you're going to see things with peppermint and other winter flavors; in the spring, spring flavors. We're going to be working with our partners and our chef to come up with those recipes. We will refresh the menu almost constantly throughout the year, but we’ll also have those core group items that the customers have grown to love, to customize and eat how they want to eat them.

JS: It might be early days because we’re sitting here at the grand reopening, but what’s next for the Nutella Café?

RF: Even though this is not brand new, the things we’re doing here are—new menu, new technology, a new customer experience. We want to judge that before we make other plans down the road. First and foremost, let's get open, let's do it strong, let's give customers the kind of experience they want, and then we'll see what's next for the Café.

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