The respected community of Italian restaurants, importers, distributors, and operators, expands its footprint to a national level, with a mission to support business opportunities between Italy and the U.S. Tuesday, September 15th, 2020 – from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM (EST). Zoom webinar (free): REGISTER HERE. Guest Speakers: Antonino Laspina, Italian Trade Commissioner; Pier Attinio Forlano, Consul General of Italy in Philadelphia 

Gianfranco Sorrentino, President of Gruppo Italiano (GI), the noted New York City non-profit restaurant organization dedicated to fostering genuine Italian products and culinary culture, announced “Meet Gruppo Italiano! Uniting, Educating, Promoting & Expanding,” a webinar to be held on Tuesday, September 15 from 3:00-4:00PM (EST).  

Gruppo Italiano is taking the lead in bringing together the Italian restaurant and hospitality communities in its all-out efforts to bridge the gap between Italy and the United States, in a unique and valuable collaboration with institutions such as the Consular network and the Italian Trade Agency, as well as other associations.

The webinar will highlight the organization’s recent efforts to expand its network nationally to prominent Italian urban centers such as Boston, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Washington,  and Philadelphia, among other cities, while the Trade Commissioner to the United States, Dr. Antonino Laspina will illustrate his offices current efforts and initiatives for stimulating trade of Italian products and how promotions can be done nationally through GI growing network. The Commissioner’s address will be preceded by a salute by the Hon. Pier Attinio Forlano, Consul Generale of Philadelphia, whose regional responsabilities include Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, West Virginia, and parts of Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey.  Consul Forlano will profile the appeal of those states for Italian companies, while lending his voice in support of GI’s involvement in his various regions. 

Four of the current national chapters will be represented during the webinar: Riccardo Longo (Philadelphia), Vince Pecora (Chicago), Enrico Carducci (Miami) and Michael Young (Los Angeles) will briefly illustrate their respective areas, providing a powerful snapshot of the magnitude of GI’s expansion. They will also pose questions to the Trade Commissioner about practical business opportunities.  Niccolo Lorimer, newly appointed member of the GI Board of Directors, will conclude the webinar with the group's aims at strengthening greater ties with new Italian producers and importers in the US. 

For additional information, please visit Gruppo-Italiano.com or register directly here 

About Gruppo Italiano

The Gruppo Italiano (GI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering genuine Italian products and the culinary culture through education; promoting a constant flow of information among member restaurants, producers, importers, and distributors of authentic Italian products, with the press, culinary schools, and the general public with a serious passion for authentic Italian food and wine.