Good Company: Palermo restaurateurs expand with Kobe Desramaults

Franco Virga and Stefania Milano, restaurateurs in Palermo who have long operated as cultural operators, are opening their sixth venue on June 1, 2024, at Finale di Pollina, an hour east of Palermo. Named Stazione Vucciria, the seasonal restaurant is set in a former railway depot by the sea, with Belgian chef Kobe Desramaults (formerly of In de Wulf and Chambre Séparée) leading the kitchen, cooking Sicilian products over an open fire. The duo's first venture, Gagini Social Restaurant, opened on November 11, 2011, in the Vucciria district, catalyzing the area's cultural and gastronomic revival. Their group now employs 70 people across five venues. Desramaults' collaboration began after he visited their operations; a permanent project in the Madonie mountains is planned for winter 2025, envisioned as a "farm factory" for food experimentation tied to the territory. Virga draws parallels to Norman influences on Sicilian culture, seeing Desramaults' Flemish philosophy as a continuation of historical cross-pollination. The expansion aligns with Palermo's broader cultural renaissance, including Manifesta 12 in 2018, when Good Company ran the temporary gastronomic space at Piazza Magione and the literary café at Teatro Garibaldi, and Palermo's tenure as Italian Capital of Culture.