Pizza like mama used to make
9:30am Thursday 18th March 2010 in Business News
THE only way Franca Iaverdino could set up a pizza takeaway in Bolton 25 years ago was to buy a run down chip shop.
Italian-born Ms Iaverdino had to run the gauntlet of hostile councillors who were convinced the shop would be just another takeaway.
But she pursued her dream and proved them wrong by setting up a pizza and pasta shop, universally known as Francas, on St George’s Road, which has stayed the test of time.
She said: “I tried to get shop premises all over the place but they kept refusing me so in the end, though it cost me £15,000 more, I bought this fish and chip shop and converted it and they couldn’t stop me then.”
And nothing has stopped her since as now, in her 25th year, she has a thriving business and has become a local icon with customers regularly coming from far afield to taste her home-made Italian food.
She opened Francas in the old Market Hall, but sold it before the building was converted.
Ms Iaverdino said: “Francas has now become something of an institution — everybody knows me and I have customers who have been coming for years.”
She maintains she is much more than the average pizza takeaway as she has brought with her recipes learned as a girl from her mother in her home town of Molise in Italy.
The bubbly businesswoman said: “Everything we do here is home made and cooked on the premises by me and my staff who have been with me years.
“Other takeaways say they bake their pizzas on the premises but we do absolutely everything here, we make and mix all the sauces and make the dough to traditional Italian recipes.
“I have spent the last six weeks creating and perfecting new meatball and Italian rib recipes as well as corn based pasta, to add to my menu.
“I must emphasise that everything we do here is home made — I get my meats from the local butcher and it is cooked straight away and I buy specially imported passata for my sauces.”
Unlike many other takeaways Francas is open only until 9.30pm on Sundays and 10.30pm Wednesday to Saturday and is closed Monday and Tuesday.
