ITHACA, N.Y. — Franco’s Pizzeria has developed a loyal clientele in the city’s West End neighborhood since its opening six years ago As the business adjusts to new digs, the owners are seeking a little help from the City of Ithaca through a low-interest business loan.
The request will be reviewed by the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency at their Economic Development Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon. The IURA has long-maintained a revolving low-interest loan fund, called the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CD-RLF), for new and existing local retail and service-oriented businesses to help them stabilize, grow and be a presence in the community for years to come.
Other recipients in recent years have included a broad spectrum of local businesses, such as Personal Best Brewing, GreenStar Co-Op, the State Theatre, The Rook restaurant, Press Bay Alley and the Ithaca Coffee Company.
Readers may be familiar with the pizzeria from its previous location at 508 West State Street, where it opened in 2017. Francesco (Franco) and Cheryl Evola own and run the pizzeria, while Franco’s brother, Salvatore (Salvo), helps set the menu and train pizza chefs. Franco’s eschews the lengthy menu of chain places that serve dozens of different pizzas with various exotic toppings, opting instead for a few varieties and to do them very well. (Apparently, diners approve.)
More recently, Franco’s moved westward down the block to the former Cornell Laundry at 527 West State Street, increasing their restaurant space from 1,400 square feet to 3,400 square feet. As noted previously in interviews with The Ithaca Voice, the Evolas have said the new location offers more space for in-house seating, a more expansive kitchen, better parking and improved accessibility for people with physical disabilities. It was also noted in the IURA application that the owner of 508 West State was looking to do something else with the property, though its future use is not detailed further.
Moving and refurbishing new digs with fixtures and kitchen equipment doesn’t come cheap, to the tune of about $170,000, per the IURA application. The Evolas paid for the move and build-out from their own pockets, which has left them with a limited safety net for the ups and downs of running a business of Ithaca, especially as they get used to a new space.
With that concern, they’ve turned to the IURA to support the project with a $50,000 low-interest loan (five-year period at a 6.375% interest rate, which is only 75% of the interest rate they’d have to pay on a conventional bank loan) as they work out any operational kinks with the new facility and re-engage their customer base. As part of the expansion, Franco’s application states they will add four part-time staff (20+ hours/week) to the operation.
The IURA does a fair amount of due diligence with these small business loan applications, just as any bank or credit union would do. Some of it is qualitative analysis by a risk analyst, while the IURA also uses a quantitative points system for restaurant applicants to ensure the loan will be a sound investment. Food service is infamous for being vulnerable to instability and turnover, so their loan applications get a more rigorous review.
For what it’s worth, the diagnosis is good. The IURA’s initial analysis of the pizzeria’s finances was favorable and believes that Franco’s would be a good loan to make, where the financial and community benefits outweigh the risks. However, issuance of the IURA small business loan it will need to be approved by the agency’s Economic Development Committee.
The IURA will decide on the matter at its 3:30 p.m. meeting on Jan. 23, which can be watched by clicking on the Zoom link in the agenda here.