Having already established three successful restaurants in New York City, Barilla is announcing today an expansion into the Southland that will begin early fall with two new fast casual restaurants. One on the campus of the University of Southern California at USC Village and another at the upscale South Coast Plaza in Orange County.

The 2,600-square foot Orange County facility and its 1,800-square foot counterpart at USC will feature open kitchens and the same wholesome Mediterranean ingredients that Italians use and eat every day: pasta, grains, fruit, and vegetables. “This is the lifestyle we were raised on,” says Barilla’s Executive Chef Alfonso Sanna, who has cooked professionally for more than thirty years in both Italy and the United States. “The Italian way of eating is one of the healthiest in the world.”