Business & Tech

Franco's Metro Embraces Both Change and Tradition

Franco's Metro Restaurant and Bar has made adjustments to keep up with the Fort Lee community in its 41 year tenure, but still strives to maintain the qualities that have kept it in business through the decades.

Franco’s Metro Restaurant and Bar prides itself on tradition. For over 40 years, it's been serving from-scratch Italian fare to the Fort Lee area. But don't be mistaken – it's not reticent to switch things up in order to keep pace with the community.  

“I want people to have a great time when they’re here,” Gene Bazzarelli, who manages the restaurant alongside his sister Melissa Bazzarelli, said.  “I want them to have a good experience.”

Franco’s started as a small pizzeria owned by Franco and Antonietta Bazzarelli and was located on Fort Lee’s Main Street. The Italian eatery has since relocated to Fort Lee’s Plaza West Shopping Center, and operates a bar, a formal dining area and a conjoined pizzeria. 

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But location and size are not the only things Franco’s has changed since its humble beginnings 41 years ago. 

In 2006, Franco’s rebranded itself from Franco’s Pizzeria and Restaurant to Franco’s Metro Restaurant and Bar. The rebranding came complete with a full renovation, which added a bar and a brick oven to the restaurant. 

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In addition to placing more of an emphasis on the bar and fine wines along with brick oven pizza, Franco’s recently implemented Whole Fish Wednesdays, in an attempt to appeal to Fort Lee’s population, which is nearly 40 percent Asian, according to 2012 U.S. Census Data.

“All of our seafood is fresh, never frozen, and that’s what keeps us kind of on good terms with the Asian population,” Gene Bazzarelli said. “In my opinion, they know quality seafood.”

On Whole Fish Wednesdays, customers can choose whether they want the fish of the day served whole, or if they want it filleted by the kitchen.  

“People go nuts over it,” Gene Bazzarelli said. “They love the fact that they can kind of sit down in front of an entire fish.” 

Franco’s has also increased the number of diet-friendly items on its menu to keep up with the growing health consciousness of the community. 

“There’s a lot of customers who are staying away from the carbs, and what’s an Italian restaurant without carbs, right?” Gene Bazzarelli said.  

To accommodate those customers, Franco’s introduced whole wheat pasta options to their menu, increased the amount of salads offered, and have substituted traditional heavier pasta dishes with items like sandwich wraps during lunch hours, according to Bazzarelli.  

While Franco’s has embraced changes in order to better serve their customers, there are some points of pride and tradition that Gene Bazzarelli says he strives to maintain.

“The key to keeping everybody satisfied is always presenting the freshest and best prepared food possible, and that’s the approach that we take,” Gene Bazzarelli said. “It’s not like we’re really reinventing the wheel.  We’re just doing things that are very well done.”

Franco's Metro Restaurant and Bar is located at 1475 Bergen Blvd. in Fort Lee.


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