Marco Pasquini e Claudio Pecchioli

Tuttobene

Nice to meet you, Tuttobene

The passion, commitment and vision of Marco Pasquini and Claudio Pecchioli have made it possible to create a brand that is synonymous with attention and goodness. TB shops offer delicious portions of daily well-being.

Marco Pasquini and Claudio Pecchiolli, owners of the 6 TuttoBene shops in the Florentine hinterland, are a true business couple. They have forty years of professional experience side by side, as café pioneers in the suburbs of Florence. Since the beginning of the ‘80s they have been experimenting with new perspectives to give customers an experience centred on taste and well-being that remains in the mouth and in the mind.

TuttoBene, as per the owners’ philosophy, is “a way of being that turns into thinking, creating and expertly cooking what is most important: goodness.” A cafe, pastry shop and an elegant and welcoming meeting place run by a close-knit team of professionals who love their work.

“Once upon a time there was the Tucano Bar in Calenzano...” Back in 1982, there were few who tried to open a bar serving quick workers’ lunches and aperitifs. Marco and Claudio took a chance on this type of service, looking at a more cosmopolitan way of being behind the counter.

“When we started with our adventure, the business did not have a well-defined soul,” Claudio recalls. “Let’s say that we have created it over time. The only objective was to meet people’s needs, to satisfy the customer. In those years, Calenzano was an economically depressed area, and at the time, it was innovative to make a choice of value and target a slice of the upper-middle class market. We wanted to bring beauty into a reality where the bar was simply considered a meeting place, without paying any attention to aesthetics.”

Then the turning point was the opening of the first TuttoBene bar in the industrial area of Campi Bisenzio. Since 2002, the Gambero Rosso guide lists it among the best bars in Italy, and after 10 years it was awarded the coveted star. “An important goal was achieved, thanks also to our collaborators,” says Marco. “By entrusting ourselves to them, we have grown and opened new businesses that reflect our pursuit of beauty, taste and well-being. Each business is self-administered. We are in constant contact but we prefer that the individual structure have its own autonomy even with the TuttoBene brand.”

The open and refined spaces, where every detail is taken into consideration, are suitable for getting together with friends or for business meetings. The day begins with tasty breakfasts and continues with lunches, snacks and aperitifs and every dish is prepared on the spot by cooks and pastry chefs.

The aim is to offer “portions of daily well-being to be shared and enjoyed with a smile.”

Their relationship with Aba Arredamenti has lasted for over 30 years, with ongoing discussions and the desire to improve and become better. “In ‘95 we opened our second place, the Caffè delle Fornaci in the centre of Sesto Fiorentino. We relied on the involvement of professionals to give character to this place; a classic bar that had to have all the comforts so that every shop has similar, but not stereotypical, furnishings.”

“It’s a pleasure to be able to work with professionals like Massimo and Roberto also at times “clashing,” because I believe that over time there has been constructive debate and mutual growth.”

“From the choice of materials to the optimisation of space, ergonomics, and the construction of the counters, we have always had frank discussions,” says Marco. “We are keen to actively cooperate in the process of choosing the furniture and finding solutions that best suit our needs. And it’s a pleasure to be able to work with professionals like Massimo and Roberto - also at times “clashing,” because I believe that over time there has been constructive debate and mutual growth. And this was our strength in dealing with the design and construction of over 11 businesses together.”

And, as true entrepreneurs, Marco and Claudio don’t hide the fact that they think, from time to time, about their well-deserved retirement, even though they are currently working on a project managed by Massimo and his daughter Rebecca – a new restaurant in Prato.

The little empire they have built is now living its own life, continuing to tickle minds and palates.