Young Entrepreneurs & new locations | Café-Bar Vita Lente and KFC Rome’s flagship store

24-10-2025

Every day, we spot fun and inspiring new concepts. This week: Café-Bar Vita Lente, the new hotspot in Amsterdam West from former Coulisse (*) owner Simon Witmaar. And on September 28, Kentucky Fried Chicken opened its first Italian flagship store in Rome.

KFC Rome boasts a truly unique location, not just for Italy, but for all of Europe. The store showcases many innovative elements in design, sustainability, service, and technology. At Café-Bar Vita Lente, fine dining has made way for a more relaxed atmosphere. The menu features robust, Southern European dishes, and plenty of wines by the glass, sherry, vermouth, and small bites made for sharing.

We wish these entrepreneurs and their teams the best of luck and lots of fun with their new and renovated concepts.

3 minutes read

Café-Bar Vita Lente | New hotspot from former Coulisse* owner Simon Witmaar

Following the closure of Michelin-starred restaurant Coulisse (*) last spring, entrepreneur Simon Witmaar is going in a new direction with Café-Bar Vita Lente, his new establishment on Jan Pieter Heijestraat in Amsterdam-West. Located in a bright corner building with a terrace, it’s no longer a fine dining restaurant, but an accessible café-bar concept that revolves around spontaneity, good drinks and dishes to share. The kitchen is run by chef Bas Holthuizen, former sous chef at Coulisse.

After almost twenty years of fine dining, Simon Witmaar has now opted for freedom and accessibility. ‘I wanted a place where you can drop in at any time of the day – for an espresso, lunch or a long drink,’ he says. No set menus or reservations, just a relaxed atmosphere where you can come in and linger. The name Vita Lente “slow living” reflects that philosophy. With Southern European flavours, honest dishes and accessible prices, it’s a place where you can escape the hustle and bustle, but where the atmosphere is lively. Inside, there are about 35 seats, including a dining bar and semi-open kitchen, and from spring onwards, there will be a terrace with 15 seats.

The menu offers robust, Southern European dishes to accompany your drinks: lots of wines by the glass, sherry, vermouth and small snacks to share. During the day, the kitchen serves simple lunch dishes and sandwiches to go, while in the evening it offers refined bar snacks and grilled dishes that move with the rhythm of the day. With a strong focus on the bar, there is a wide range of aperitifs, vermouth, sherry, wines and beers, complemented by non-alcoholic alternatives such as kombucha and sparkling tea. Opening hours: Mon & Thu 11:00–00:00 | Fri & Sat 11:00–01:00 | Sun 11:00–19:00

KFC opens their European flagship store in Rome | The largest location in Europe

Kentucky Fried Chicken opened its first Italian flagship store in Rome on September 28. A unique venue, not only for Italy but for Europe, with features that are unrivalled in terms of design, sustainability, service and technology. There are only three other flagship stores. The location, on Via del Tritone at the corner of Via della Stamperia, is just a few steps from the newly restored Trevi Fountain. Equally unique is the aesthetics of the restaurant, which occupies two floors of 870 square meters in a historic building. The choice for Rome as the location for the first European flagship store confirms the centrality of the Italian market, which is expanding rapidly with a turnover of €179 million in 2024 and a growth forecast of 30% for 2025.

Following a clear and orderly customer journey, customers can enter, place their orders at interactive kiosks and choose to sit in one of the 200 seats while waiting for their order. It’s the only KFC restaurant in Italy in which customers can also be served at their table through the Table Service & Lobby Host service, which is active in both areas of the store: on the ground floor, designed for quick consumption, and on the first floor, designed for dining in a more relaxed and convivial atmosphere and with a large children’s area.

Customer experience and sustainability go hand in hand in the design of the new flagship store. Innovative, environmentally friendly materials have been used, while the building is equipped with a modern, energy-efficient lighting and climate control system. Exclusively for Europe, customers can also discover ‘Kwench’ in this flagship store, the new beverage platform that is only available in 38 locations worldwide. The range offers refreshing options such as Kwench Bubble Refreshers and Kwench Sodas, as well as Kwench Krunch Coffee and Kwench Krunch Shakes, perfect for starting the day. More details in their Italian press release, link in the title.

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
• People