Key facts
- KFC plans outlets at 2,123 meters on Mount Faloria in Cortina d'Ampezzo and at 1,700 meters in Madonna di Campiglio.
- Alberico Zardini, a Faloria SpA majority shareholder, said he warned of legal action unless the plan is halted.
- KFC Italia's Marzia Farè said the outlets target a broader market, from young families to mountain lovers.
- Eataly founder Oscar Farinetti said the KFC brand does not belong in the resorts.
KFC plans to open its first high-altitude restaurants on the slopes of Cortina d'Ampezzo and Madonna di Campiglio, in the Dolomites, on December 5, the company said. The chain described the move as a debut for a fast-food outlet on an Italian ski slope and said the outlets would serve its spicy wings, burgers and buckets of fried chicken.
The Cortina outlet is to sit at 2,123 meters on Mount Faloria, inside the Faloria mountain club, where a luxury lodge is due to open on an upper floor. The Madonna di Campiglio outlet, at 1,700 meters on Piana di Nambino in south-western Trentino, is to stand next to an après-ski club.
Alberico Zardini, a majority shareholder in Faloria SpA, the company that manages infrastructure on Mount Faloria, told Il Messaggero the idea was "disgraceful" and "absurd and shameful." He said he had written to Faloria's bosses warning he would pursue legal action unless they halted the plan, calling it "a mad decision" and saying he was "100% against it."
Marzia Farè, chief marketing officer for KFC Italia, told brandnews.it the outlets were part of the chain's "quick service restaurants" range and a way to reach a broader market, "from young families to mountain lovers." She said the company "strongly wanted this project" as part of how it imagines KFC's evolution.
Oscar Farinetti, founder of the Eataly food-store chain, told Il Sole 24 Ore the brand "doesn't belong here at all" and said Italian consumers should be "a tad more cultured." Luigi Casanova of the NGO Mountain Wilderness told Corriere della Sera that "the era of polenta and luganega sausage is over," and Paola Demagri of Trentino's provincial council said mountain identity was being "sold out to Kentucky chicken."
Cristian Ferrari, president of the mountain association Società Alpinisti Tridentini, said: "We have nothing against fried chicken, but are we sure this is the issue we should be most worried about?"