Mountain West expansion · Founding partners
Three years in Boulder. A documented playbook. Five revenue streams from one kitchen. We're partnering with operators, investors, and multi-unit groups to expand across the Mountain West.
The opportunity
Fast-casual dining is saturated with bowls and burritos. Italian, the most beloved cuisine in America, has been left to two extremes: full-service trattorias on one end, supermarket-grade chains on the other. Nobody is doing fresh, imported, fast-fine Italian — at speed, at scale.
Pasta Press fits in the middle. Restaurant-quality plates. Fast-casual speed. A brand built on traceable Italian ingredients and dishes that trace back to specific cities. It's a category that doesn't yet have a leader — and the Mountain West is where we're starting.
Why it works · why it's hard to copy
No. 01
Three years of recipes, prep timelines, training systems, and standards — written down, tested, repeatable. This is the deliverable.
No. 02
Lazio flour. Calabrian peppers. D.O.P. cheeses from Lazio and Emilia. Direct producer relationships, built over years — not a distributor catalog.
No. 03
Fresh pasta cooks in two and a half minutes. Standardized process delivers throughput dry-pasta concepts can't match.
No. 04
Simple kitchens. Fast staff training. Lower SKU count. Tighter food cost. Every dish on the menu obeys the same rule.
No. 05
Carbonara is Roman. Bolognese is from Imola. Pesto is Ligurian. The brand is the menu — storytelling that doesn't need translation.
No. 06
You'll work directly with Stefano and Rachel — the founders who built this — not a corporate franchise team. That's the deal.
The playbook
Most concepts looking to expand have a founder who keeps it all in their head. We don't.
Over three years in Boulder, Stefano and Rachel have written the playbook. Every recipe. Every prep timeline. Every front-of-house standard. Every supplier relationship. Codified, tested, and refined through real operations — not theory.
When a partner joins Pasta Press, they don't get a brand and a wish. They get a manual.
The Boulder proof
1911 11th Street, Boulder, Colorado. Open since 2022. Three years of operating, refining the menu, building the supplier network, training the team, and writing down everything that works. The concept isn't theoretical — it's been on the line for a thousand-plus services.
Five revenue streams
A single fresh-pasta production line feeds five revenue streams — most of which never require a customer to walk through the door. The same dough that becomes a $19 plate at lunch becomes a $15 retail bag at the farmers market on Saturday and a wholesale invoice on Monday. That's how the unit economics work.
No. 01
Fast fine dining. The flagship experience — fresh pasta, plated, in five minutes.
No. 02
Same menu, same speed, same quality — packaged for the road. Lunch rushes and weeknight dinners.
No. 03
Fresh pasta, sauces, and Italian imports sold at the counter for cooking at home.
No. 04
Our fresh pasta on grocery store shelves. Recurring B2B revenue, no covers required.
No. 05
Weekly community presence — direct retail sales and a brand-building channel that compounds over time.
The point
Five streams from one kitchen means the concept isn't dependent on covers alone. Slow Tuesday? Wholesale ships. Snowy Saturday? Farmers market still runs.
Three ways to partner
We're open to investors, operators, and strategic groups. Each path has its own structure — tell us which one you are, and we'll shape the conversation around it.
Capital partner for new locations. Passive equity. You believe in the concept and want exposure to a fast-fine Italian brand without operating it day-to-day.
Best for: Family offices, accredited investors, restaurant-experienced LPs.
You run the location. We provide the brand, recipes, training, supply chain, and ongoing support. Equity stake plus operating role.
Best for: Experienced GMs, chefs, hospitality operators ready to own.
Multi-unit groups, real estate operators, or restaurant collectives bringing infrastructure and a commitment to three or more locations.
Best for: Existing F&B groups adding a differentiated concept.
What founding partners receive
Kitchen, FOH, training, ordering, wholesale, farmers market. Three years of operations, written down.
Every dish on the menu — quantities, plating, timing, sourcing. Updated seasonally.
Direct access to our Italian importers and D.O.P. ingredient producers.
Demographic profile, real estate criteria, build-out specs, equipment list.
You and your opening team train on the line at our flagship before launch.
Brand assets, photography standards, opening campaign, ongoing comms.
Ongoing direct line to Stefano and Rachel. Not a call center. Not a portal.
Preferential pricing and territory rights unavailable to later partners.
Target markets
We're prioritizing the Mountain West — close enough to Boulder for hands-on partnership, broad enough for real growth. Ski towns, university towns, and growing metros are the strongest fits.
Outside the region? Tell us why your market is the exception.
How it works
Submit the form below. Tell us who you are, what market, and what kind of partner you want to be.
A 30-minute conversation with Stefano or Rachel. Mutual fit, mutual questions, no pressure.
Come to the restaurant. Meet the team. Eat the food. We share unit economics and partnership terms.
Structure the model, sign the LOI, and begin site selection. Typical timeline: 60–120 days from first inquiry.
A note from the founders
When Rachel and I opened Pasta Press in 2022, we made a decision that probably cost us a year of growth: we weren't going to expand until the playbook was real. Not vibes. Not a deck. An actual manual you could hand to someone and watch them run a Pasta Press kitchen.
Three years later, we have it. The recipes are written. The supply chain is built. The systems work without us in the room. And so now we're ready for the next part — and that's where you come in.
We're not looking for fifty partners. We're looking for the right early ones — people who care about Italian food the way we do, who want to build something with real ingredients and real standards, and who want to grow alongside us instead of inside a corporate franchise machine.
If that's you, we'd love to meet.
Submit your inquiry
Tell us about you and your market. We read every submission and respond to qualified partners within five business days.
Frequently asked
Mountain West expansion · Founding partner inquiries open · Boulder, CO