Summary:
- VV The Italian Experience opens at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), bringing authentic Italian dining to Concourse B.
- The family-owned restaurant traces its roots to 1940s Puglia, offering travellers dishes such as piadina, pasta bolognese, and pasta alla Genovese.
- Operated with SSP America, the airport location delivers a heritage-driven, elevated dining experience that reflects both local Cincinnati and Italian culture.
A Cincinnati restaurant with deep Italian roots has found a new home at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub. VV The Italian Experience has opened in Concourse B. The family-owned business offers travellers an Italian dining experience rooted in heritage, regional culinary tradition and genuine hospitality.
VV The Italian Experience opened its first location in the Mount Lookout neighbourhood of Cincinnati in 2023, but the brand traces its origins to the 1940s. That’s when family patriarch Erminio Stefano began growing wine, vegetables, and pastries on land in Casamassella, a small village in the Puglia region of southern Italy. His son Antonio brought that spirit forward and branded the family business Vigne Vecchie, which is Italian for “the old vineyard”. Today, Antonio’s sons Erminio and Andrea carry on the tradition in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region.
The CVG location is open all day and features a menu designed for the rhythms of travel, with breakfast, appetisers, salads, handhelds, and entrées. Customers can expect dishes such as piadina, pasta bolognese, and pasta alla Genovese, alongside wine, cocktails, and aperitivo offerings that aim to bring added depth and personality to the experience.
“What sets VV apart is the story behind it,” said Larry Krauter, CEO of CVG Airport. “Three generations of family heritage, a concept born right here in Cincinnati, and a dining experience that gives our travellers a genuine sense of place before they ever leave the ground. We’re pleased to bring that experience to Concourse B.”
Andrea Stefano, CEO and owner of VV The Italian Experience, commented: “For my whole family, this is about so much more than opening a restaurant in an airport. It is about reintroducing our brand in a way that honours where we come from – from Cincinnati to Puglia, where our grandfather Erminio first began this journey in the 1940s. Seeing that story come to life in such a beautiful space, and sharing it with travellers from around the world, is something that means a great deal to us.”
VV The Italian Experience at CVG is operated in partnership with SSP America, a global food and beverage operator with outlets in airports and travel locations across 38 countries.
“VV The Italian Experience is exactly the kind of concept we love bringing into airports: a brand the local community loves, and passengers consider the best part of the journey,” said George Mboya, Chief Executive Officer, SSP America. “Rooted in family, heritage, and genuine hospitality, it offers a culinary style which feels both elevated and deeply personal. We’re proud to partner with VV and CVG to bring this beautiful expression of Italian food and culture to the terminal.”
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