1551 Wealthy Street SEIt’s hard for me to turn down a good pizza.
I picked up a Saturday evening shift in Grand Rapids a few weeks ago to cover for a co-worker. It was a fairly easy shift with most of our work being done before 7:00. I still had some things to do in the office so we headed back to Grand Rapids after spending the afternoon at the lake shore.
I was hungry when we got back to Grand Rapids. I didn’t feel like putting much effort in to finding food and I remembered hearing about a pizza place that was really good not too far from the office.
Franca’s Pizzeria is on Wealthy Street just to the east of the intersection with Lake Street on the southeast side of Grand Rapids. The restaurant is in building that many years ago was a Blockbuster video. Since Blockbuster’s demise, the building has undergone several renovations to break up the space in to multiple storefronts. Franca’s is just one of many businesses, including a couple of different restaurants, that take up what used to be a video store.
I put in my order for 14″ pepperoni, sausage, and jalapeno pizza using the online ordering option around 7:15. The initial text message I got said the pizza would be ready at 7:50. I was about ten minutes away so I didn’t leave right away. By 7:30, I had a text message saying my order was ready.
Franca’s Pizzeria is really small. It’s a carry-out only location and part of Flo’s Collection which includes the four Flo’s Pizzeria locations and a catering company.
The public space at Franca’s is really just an order counter and a bench to sit on if you need to wait. The majority of the building is taken up by the kitchen. There was another group picking up their pizza when I got there. When they were done, I gave the woman working the register my name. She turned around to grab my pizza off a shelf and grab the bottle of Pepsi I also ordered. I was in and out in less than 5 minutes.
I headed back to the office to eat. Not gonna lie, it was a little bit of a challenge to wait. If I wasn’t so close to work, I would have probably just eaten on the hood of my car.
The Sicilian inspired pizza, like most of Flo’s pizzas, is wood-fired. This one had a delicious golden brown edge to it. The crust was crispy but also soft through the middle at the same time.
I did a three topping pizza which is odd for me. I’m usually too cheap…but pepperoni, sausage, and jalapenos just sounded good on that particular day. All three of the toppings were piled on top of the 14″ pizza. There was no way to take a bite without getting a little bit of all three.
The cost for the pizza and a bottle of Pepsi was right around $20 before tip.
Franca’s Pizzeria is a much better alternative to the typical carry-out pizza. It’s as easy to order and pick up as calling one of the big chains but the pizza is 100x better. In all the years I’ve worked in Grand Rapids I’ve never actually been to or picked up a pizza from Flo’s. I was always scared off because they’re an actual sit down restaurant and it was always kind of far from where my office is. Franca’s is a great alternative to that. All they do is carry-out.