BROCKPORT, NY – A lot of bars and diners on Main Street have been hotspots for students and numerous people in the Brockport community. Their pizzas, burgers and sandwiches have been the go-to food choices for customers. There is one place, though, that provides a different option for people who want something fresh and a bit healthier. Right next to Bill Gray’s on South Lake Road is a little burrito shop called Frankie Fresh.
At Brockport’s Frankie Fresh, customers don’t have to question the quality of ingredients they are being served. Since Frank and Erica Pesce opened the restaurant on Sept. 21, 2020, Frankie Fresh has provided its patrons with natural ingredients, substantial portions and a positive atmosphere.
New ingredients are prepped each morning before the restaurant opens. The restaurant’s recipes were created by Frank Pesce, who started out as an at-home chef. He and his wife, who was working as a boutique manager, quit their jobs and opened Frankie Fresh because they wanted to spend more time together.
“Working opposite schedules was terrible, being newlyweds,” Frank Pesce said. “I would come home in the middle of the night, and then she’d just be getting ready to go to work in the morning.”
The Pesces promoted the idea of a burrito shop to people. According to Frank Pesce, he and his wife like Chipotle, which inspired them to lean more towards making burritos and Tex-Mex food.
Opening a new restaurant in 2020 wasn’t easy for the Pesces, as it was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple small businesses closed as the pandemic kept customers at home and prices skyrocketed.
“It was scary because we had signed the lease, and then we were building it up, getting ready to open,” Frank Pesce said. “And then smack dab in the middle of that, COVID started, and we had to make a decision. You know, do we keep moving forward with it, or do we just shut it down? And luckily, they were allowing restaurants to just do takeout still…so we stuck with it.”
The Pesces started the restaurant just over the Main Street Bridge near 58 Main & BBQ. Initially, they ran the business by themselves.
Since then, they have moved the business to 4265 S. Lake Road, the former home of Family Video, in June of 2024. Frankie Fresh has had to adjust to a larger space and more customers.
There were also changes in which hours were the busiest. At the original location, the busy hours would be during rush hour and later into the evening. Ever since Frankie Fresh moved, though, most customers would come in mostly during the early afternoon.
“The people who come in here did not actually know Frankie Fresh used to be over there. It’s a whole other community,” Frankie Fresh acting manager Donald Hill said. “It’s almost as if this is a new area for myself.”
Hill, who recently graduated from SUNY Brockport with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, was promoted to manager after the location change. He can attest to the quality ingredients the restaurant uses.
“I have worked at restaurants where everything’s promoted to be healthy or fresh, and that is not always the case. Our prep people are here at seven, and I get to watch the process of all the pico, corn, protein and marinade [being] cooked and prepped,” Hill said.
Hill has not only noticed a difference in Frankie Fresh’s product quality when compared to other restaurants, but in its workplace environment, too.
“It’s a completely different environment here,” Hill said. “Frank and Erica have been probably one of the top bosses. Considering I just graduated, it was a no-brainer just to stay here over the summer, work and watch the business grow.”
Hill says he likes being a manager at Frankie Fresh because watching his employees grow and take on more responsibilities because of the new location is rewarding for him. He works to ensure that his customers have a positive experience.
“If someone comes in and they’re not having the best day, I still provide exceptional customer service. [I] hopefully change their mood a little bit or have them have a better customer experience for the rest of the day,” Hill said.
Even with their focus on customer satisfaction, Frankie Fresh must compete with large chains, like Chipotle, that focus on gaining customers through elaborate ad campaigns and social media trends. Still, Brockport locals choose Frankie Fresh.
“I love Chipotle. I don’t want to drive to Greece,” Frankie Fresh customer and SUNY Brockport student Paige Taylor said. “This is just as good, for sure.”
Frankie Fresh’s customers have followed the restaurant to its new location. Frankie Fresh customer and Brockport High School teacher Katie Contrera says that this new location is an inviting space for community members. Facility improvements, like an expanded eating area and a larger parking lot, have impressed returning customers.
“It sets a better ambiance. It would get really crowded because they were busy and had lots of customers,” Contrera said. “You couldn’t really sit because people were in line.”
Contrera was at Frankie Fresh catching up with three of her former students who now attend SUNY Brockport. When they were students at SUNY Brockport, they ate lunch with Contrera everyday.
“We’re four distinctly different personalities. We each had our own thing that we could eat together,” Contrera said. “When I made the recommendation, everyone was like, ‘Oh yeah, I definitely love Frankie Fresh.’ It’s something I think appeals to a lot of different people.”
Things haven’t always been perfect at the restaurant. One of the challenges was trying to find more employees.
“I feel like we had a lot of turnover over the years,” Frank Pesce said. “So, definitely have to say that aspect is the most difficult.”
Regardless of these issues, the business has continued to go on strongly. On Facebook, 98% of reviews were recommendations for people to go to Frankie Fresh.
Frankie Fresh is different from many fast-food chains. The local restaurant does not boast hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and is not trying to become the next trending hashtag. Instead, Frankie Fresh works to provide a personalized customer experience.
