| 11/20/09 04:17 PM |
#3100
|
|
Patrick Corrigan
Geraci's Restaurant in University Heights in national spotlight on Food Network program
By Ed Wittenberg, Sun News
November 13, 2009, 11:20AM
Ed Wittenberg
Frannie Geraci thought it was a prank when she received a call telling her the Food Network wanted to feature Geraci's Restaurant on its show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives."
Frannie Geraci got a call in June informing her that Geraci’s Restaurant, one of University Heights’ most popular eateries, was being considered for a spot on the Food Network show, "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives."
"I thought it was a prank call," said Geraci, one of the restaurant’s two general managers. "I actually hung up on the girl."
Fortunately, the Food Network representative called back. After a six-hour phone interview over a three-day period, Geraci’s, at 2266 Warrensville Center Road, was selected for the show.
"They wanted to know every ingredient on every menu item," Geraci said. "Then they decide if they’re going to visit you."
The seven-minute segment highlighting Geraci’s will air at 10 p.m. Monday on the Food Network. The 30-minute show features three eateries.
Guy Fieri, the spiked-haired host of "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," travels around the country looking for the best drive-in restaurants, diners and dive bars.
"We don’t fall into any of those categories," Geraci said.
"He goes to mom-and-pop restaurants, independently owned. He calls it ‘Triple-D.’ "
Fieri and Page Productions, the company that produces the show, arrived at Geraci’s on a hot afternoon in July, Geraci said.
"It took 26 hours to film, over a two-day period," she said. "It was 95 degrees; I was so exhausted.
"But it was a blast for us — for me, my staff and my family. The whole experience was very fun."
Fieri was in the kitchen, cooking spaghetti and meatballs and veal parmigiana with Geraci.
"He selected his food before he came, and he tells you what he wants to cook with you," she said.
They also made and rolled dough and cooked pepperoni pizza, the top-selling item on Geraci’s menu.
"Guy loved everything," Geraci said. "You can see when he takes a bite out of something, he enjoys it."
Fieri said Geraci’s pizza "reminded him of his childhood," Geraci said.
"He said he wished Geraci’s was around the corner from him when he was growing up," she said.
"He also loved our sauce, and he loved us. He was so much fun to be with."
The gregarious Fieri also walked around the restaurant and interviewed several customers who were eating, Geraci said.
"He’s a very down-to-earth man and really seemed to enjoy himself," Geraci said. "He was very friendly and very funny.
"And his crew had so much fun. They made the experience for our family very comfortable."
So how did Fieri and Page Productions find out about Geraci’s?
Guy Fieri, host of the cable television show, “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” and a crew from Page Productions taped a segment at Geraci’s Restaurant in University Heights that will air at 10 p.m. Monday on the Food Net´ work. This photo illustration was designed by Danielle Masseria, a Geraci’s employee and daughter of Frannie Geraci, the restaurant’s general manager. Â?
"(Our) customers wrote into the Food Network," Geraci said.
"The woman who interviewed me on the phone said they get over 1,000 e-mails a day, from all over the country. She said several customers from our restaurant e-mailed them."
Geraci’s Restaurant has been in business 53 years.
Frannie Geraci’s parents, Michael and Frances Geraci, of Pepper Pike, are the original owners. At the ages of 91 and 87, respectively, they are still active in the business.
But Frannie, of University Heights, and her sister, Marti Spoth, of Pepper Pike, oversee the daily operation as general managers.
"All 11 of (my parents’) grandchildren have worked here at some point," Frannie Geraci said.
Business has picked up at Geraci’s since word got out that the restaurant will be featured on national television, Geraci said.
"Channel 3 (WKYC-TV) had a crew here filming that day (when Fieri was there), and we got a lot of great exposure," she said.
"We’ve had a lot of new customers since then; people who’ve come from far away. I can’t believe how many fans Guy has."
Geraci said she was a "huge fan" of "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" even before Fieri came to her family’s restaurant.
"Many of our customers are as well," she said. "Apparently that’s how we got on the show.
"It was an experience I’ll never forget. We laughed forever and had a great time."
|
|
