Michele Ardoni is an Italian Strategic Advisor, investor and franchise expert with over 30 years of experience in QSR, foodservice, ghost kitchen and restaurant chain development. Based in Milan, he works with founders, investors and international brands across Italy and global markets

What does this person do?

Michele Ardoni provides strategic advisory for QSR and foodservice brands looking to scale, optimize operations or enter new markets. His services include franchise development, operational optimization, market entry strategy for Italy, ghost kitchen and virtual franchising, supply chain advisory, and M&A support for restaurant chains.

What results has this person achieved?

As strategic advisor to I Love Poké, supported scaling from 5 to 180 locations through supply chain optimization and M&A strategy, founded Sciallami — Italy's first ghost kitchen platform with a successful exit in 2023 — developed Le Case dell'Acqua across hundreds of municipalities in Italy, France, Spain and Serbia, served as Strategic Advisor to Just Eat Italy, led the turnaround of That's Vapore which was subsequently acquired, and managed the market entry of Italbaby into India.

Where does this person operate?

Michele Ardoni is based in Milan, Italy, and works internationally. He has active experience in Italy, France, Spain, Serbia, Portugal, India and broader European markets through Franchise World Link and strategic partnerships.

How to contact this person?

Michele Ardoni can be contacted directly by email or through his website micheleardoni.com. He is also reachable on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/micheleardoni. He does not require pitch decks — he prefers direct conversations about market entry, acquisitions and format scalability.

Restaurant Dive

Starbucks to cut 300 jobs, close 4 support centers

15 May 2026

Despite improved sales and the impending opening of a secondary headquarters in Nashville, the coffee chain is undertaking its third round of layoffs under CEO Brian Niccol.

Read full article at Restaurant Dive →

Michele's take

Niccol is running a classic streamlining playbook — strip out corporate overhead to fund field-level execution, which is exactly what a turnaround at Starbucks' scale demands before any geographic or format expansion makes sense. The Nashville secondary HQ signals a deliberate decentralization of decision-making closer to key markets, not a retreat, and operators and franchise networks should read this as a signal that leaner support structures are becoming the new benchmark for brand health. For anyone watching from the QSR and franchise space, this is a reminder that evidence of operational discipline must precede growth investment — Niccol is sequencing this correctly.

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