Retail

The pizza restaurant taking over South African shopping malls

Kirsten Minnaar • 17 September 2026

Col’Cacchio has grown from a single Cape Town pizzeria into a 20-restaurant group across three countries with an increasingly popular retail product range.

Col’Cacchio was founded in 1992 by Kinga Baranowska and Michael Terespolsky in Cape Town. Baranowska developed the menu, while Terespolsky focused on the business and franchising side.

The pair opened two similar pizzerias in 1995 and 1996 under the name Morituri Pizzeria, which they eventually sold.

Terespolsky then focused on turning Col’Cacchio into a franchised restaurant group. In a 2015 Startup Grind interview, he said the company, which had 30 stores, was targeting 40 within the following year.

The restaurant group built its offering around Italian-inspired food. While pizza has always been its main product, the menu also expanded to include pasta, salads and antipasti.

Baranowska also introduced vegetarian, vegan, and carb-conscious options as the business developed.

Col’Cacchio has maintained a focus on Italian ingredients, importing products such as Granoro pasta, Aceto Balsamico di Modena, Parmesan, and artichokes. Tomatoes are sourced from Italy’s Po River Valley.

The group eventually expanded its restaurant footprint beyond South Africa into Namibia and Mauritius. Today, there are 20 Col’Cacchio restaurants across these three countries.

It also introduced delivery and the Col’Cacchio GO format, which has allowed the brand to reach customers outside its traditional restaurant setting.

Alongside its food offering, Col’Cacchio developed events and experiences at its restaurants, including quiz nights, networking occasions, and speed-dating events.

The group was also named Best Restaurant Chain in South Africa at the 2026 South African Restaurant Awards, retaining the title it won in 2025.

From restaurants to retail

Col’Cacchio Group CEO Etienne Pieterse and Col’Cacchio co-founder Kinga Baranowska

During the Covid-19 pandemic, when South Africa’s restaurant industry was forced to close or operate under restrictions, Col’Cacchio had to develop a new business plan.

They decided to move into the supermarket space and developed a fresh retail pizza range, which was sold at SPAR Sea Point. What began as a single supermarket listing later developed into a broader retail channel.

Baranowska said the pandemic forced the company to look at the business differently.

“For years, Col’Cacchio was a place where consumers went for a meal with family and friends,” she said.

“Retail has allowed us to become part of a different occasion. Customers can now pick up one of our hand-made pizzas while grocery shopping and enjoy it at home.”

Even though Col’Cacchio had decades of experience in serving pizzas, translating their products into a retail-friendly format was not straightforward.

This is because a pizza served directly from a restaurant kitchen does not need to withstand freezing, transport, and storage before reaching the customer.

The business had to adapt its products for the retail environment while still maintaining the same standards associated with its restaurants.

“Retail couldn’t feel like a watered-down version of our restaurant experience,” said Col’Cacchio Group CEO Etienne Pieterse.

“The occasion and preparation method may be different, but the customer’s expectation isn’t. If a product carries the Col’Cacchio name, it still has to be something we’re proud to put in front of people.”

The retail range has expanded from fresh pizzas to include frozen products and is now available through selected SPAR and Checkers stores, as well as at Nibbly Bits nationwide.

Some retail products are also based on pizzas already available in the restaurants. The Butternut, Feta, and Pumpkin Seed Praline frozen pizza, for example, is inspired by the restaurant’s Norm’s Pralina pizza.

The frozen range has received recognition at the Food & Home Awards. The Butternut pizza won Gold and was named Best Pizza in its category, while the Frozen Pepperoni pizza received Silver.

Pieterse explained that the retail business is intended to complement rather than replace the restaurant network.

“We don’t see restaurant and retail as competing occasions. Sometimes the customer occasion is dinner in one of our restaurants,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s a delivery, and sometimes it’s opening the freezer at home on a Wednesday night. We want to earn a place in each of those moments.”