Standard pizza joint with good pizza actually, with no flop that would garner a respectable one-bite score but the bad energy from the owner and questionable service ruins it all.
Remember that scene from The Sopranos where Meadow introduces Noah to Tony and the dialog in that scene? And then this other scene later on where Tony tells Carmella "Thank God she's not with that Jamal Ginsburg character anymore...he's not one of us." Well, that's exactly the awkwardness I felt here at Franco's but in reality.
I came here with my dad who is almost 70 and the owner was clearly giving us the cold shoulder the moment we opened the door and walked in and I knew exactly why but I didn't say anything because my dad was there. Like I said, it's an energy that is given off; no words need to be exchanged.
We ordered four slices (two specialty and two plain) but the owner was rushing me and not letting me repeat my order because he was cutting me off as I was speaking by handing me one of those table card holders and telling me to go find a table. As a result, he ended up sending only two slices to the table because I think he only heard "two slices for him and two for me" and forgot that 2+2 equals four. I would have gone back up, but like I said he was already cutting me off and I understood why he was doing that so the incentive for me to continue that interaction was very low.
I also ordered a rigatoni with meat sauce. The side salad and bread that came with the order were fine but the rigatoni was inedible because of the odd salt content in the sauce. Again, out of confusion/embarrassment, I just took a few bites and then asked for a container to take home (to throw out). And when I say it was salty, I don't mean Olive Garden-level salty. It was as if someone literally took a handful of salt and mixed it into the sauce on purpose. An Italian grandmother would never approve of something like what I took a bite of to be served to others so I don't know how we ended up with what we got other than someone deliberately adding salt to that dish or Franco's having low-quality vendors which I doubt. Again, I could have said something but I had a feeling one of those guys behind the counter would say "You're not Italian, that's how it's supposed to taste" so I didn't want to go there.
Also, as we were eating I glanced up and one of the guys behind the counter who has a bald head and bears a very close resemblance to the owner, was looking at us and then looked back at the owner and was giggling while shrugging his shoulders and mumbling something which was clearly directed at us. Was he laughing because he put salt in my food? Was he laughing because we reminded him of hilariously racist Sopranos dialog? I don't know, but it made me feel uncomfortable either way.
I can't prove anything because I have no video proof but there's a few reviews on here and on Google that describe suspiciously similar incidents which caught my eye and my gut tells me that these are not all a coincidence, so hence the need for me to write this review and discuss my experience as well.
This wasn't simply a rushed service type of attitude or a one-off that you can blame on a misunderstanding either, it was very clear to me that this was something else. For better context, this was on a Sunday afternoon about a year ago and other than the two of us, and another group of 3 or 4 people having lunch in the back, we were the only ones in the dining area that afternoon. Also, we're not black like Noah (which should not even have to be said) but we got the weird energy regardless so the "unwelcomeness" is broad in its reach if that makes sense. The young girl who was our server, however, was courteous so I left her a nice tip.
To the owner, I don't know what your problem is man but that behavior is so cheap and low-class that one day, someone you actually respect is going to call you out on that to your face and maybe that will wake you up that you can't be doing that. If I come back again and you do the same thing, I'll just record it this time and Yelp takes those types of accusations VERY seriously. Also, if you, or someone in the kitchen, knowingly did screw around with my food that day, then that's on you and your values but know that karma is real and it comes to collect. And finally, don't treat paying customers that way when you also choose to fly the American flag in your store. That's the ultimate disrespect.
I'll admit, the feeling I got when I left here that day was that I didn't want to return and maybe that's exactly what their intention was. read more