GP Diner To Bring Roman Pizza, Gelato & Italian Versions Of Diner Classics To San Diego

May 25, 2022

The team behind San Diego's hit Italian restaurant group Buona Forchetta is almost ready to unveil GP Diner, a Roman-style pizzeria, gelateria and drive-through diner.Ìý

Native Italian Matteo Cattaneo opened his award-winning Buona Forchetta in San Diego's South Park neighborhood in 2011 and has been packing the house ever since. In March 2017, the company opened an offshoot dubbedÌýÌýin Liberty Station, which coincided with the announcement of an incoming, 1,100 square foot Encinitas Buona Forchetta thatÌý. The team also operatesÌý, an Italian bodega and bistro that sits two doors down from the company's flagship South Park restaurant.

In early 2020, Buona Forchetta ownership openedÌý, a non-profit breakfast-centric restaurant in South Park, as well asÌýÌýin Coronado and Roman pizzeriaÌýGelati & Peccati in North Park. Last year, Cattaneo also opened a Buona Forchetta branch in the 3,000 square-foot space that last housed a location of theÌýÌýwithin Block C at the North City mixed use residential and retail development in San Marcos, with another branch opening in San Clemente, CA later in 2022.ÌýIn order to host private events, the Buona Forchetta team took over the former Moose Lodge at 1648 30th Street in South Park and is in the process of constructing an event venue and restaurant dubbedÌý. This past February, Cattaneo opened casual, NYC-style pizzeria concept Forchettabouddit in Encinitas's El Camino Promenade that previously housed Pizza@Portafoglio and later this year will open a Texas-style barbecue restaurant called Carbón in South Park.

Last spring, Cattaneo took over the 2,138 square-foot space that long housed a location of Angelo's Burgers on Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. Being the unit has a drive-through component right in the center of the building, the group decided the best way to maximize use of such an asset was to offer an eclectic array of food and beverages that would be good for take-out. Dubbed GP Diner, the eatery will offer a menu of Roman-style rectangular pizza, homemade gelato, as well as diner classics with an Italian flair, available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There will also be a full coffee menu with a selection of pastries, croissants and more baked goods.

Like with Gelati & Peccati, Cattaneo has partnered with longtime employees Luca Zamboni and Giovanni Bonomi. Zamboni previously worked under famed Italian pizzaiolo, Gabriele Bonci, who has lines out the doors of his namesake pizzerias in Rome and Chicago, and Bonomi is a master gelato maker with a passion for producing unique flavors.

GP Diner is anticipated to open in mid-July at 608 South Coast Highway 101 in San Diego's North County community of Encinitas. For more information, follow .Ìý