Outrage Erupts Over Nazi Imagery at Popular Wildwood Pizzeria

An image of Nazi and other imagery on the wall inside Franconi’s Pizza on the boardwalk in Wildwood last week. (Image via Reddit)

UPDATE 8/8 5:51pm: Someone reportedly made a bomb threat against Franconi’s on Friday, forcing the restaurant to shut down temporarily. Full story here.

Back in October, I wrote a piece that delved into what happens when restaurants get into politics. I did this after my favorite sandwich place in Norristown hung a big pro-Trump banner at the shop, and Hymie’s on the Main Line allowed a pro-Trump television ad to be filmed in their iconic deli. But a pizza place on the boardwalk in Wildwood took things way beyond political statements recently.

Last week, a Reddit user who was at Franconi’s Pizza, which opened in Wildwood in 2006, took notice of some troubling imagery on the wall of the kitchen, a wall that’s visible from the Wildwood boardwalk. There were numerous political stickers that you’d often find in Wildwood – Fuck Biden, Kamala Sucks, etc. There were pro-Trump stickers, as well as what appeared to be a Confederate flag and a “Rap Sucks” sticker.

But some went far beyond the typical partisan slogans. Two stickers on the wall celebrated the Schutzstaffel, aka the SS, the notorious paramilitary group in Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Another highlighted the Totenkopf, an SS division charged with guarding Nazi concentration camps. Both symbols have been adopted by neo-Nazi and white supremacy groups.

Naturally, outrage erupted on the Reddit post. Opponents of the situation at Franconi’s Pizza hammered the pizzeria with negative reviews on Google and Yelp.

Franconi’s has reportedly been doing whatever it can to have the Google reviews deleted. As for Yelp, if you go to the Yelp page for Franconi’s Pizza now, you will see the following message:

This business recently received increased public attention resulting in an influx of people posting their views to this page, so we have temporarily disabled the ability to post here as we work to investigate the content. While racism has no place on Yelp and we unequivocally reject racism or discrimination in any form, all reviews on Yelp must reflect an actual first-hand consumer experience (even if that means disabling the ability for users to express points of view we might agree with). Learn more on Yelp Support. If you’re here to leave a review based on a first-hand experience with the business, please check back at a later date.

I took a ride to Franconi’s Pizza on Tuesday afternoon and saw none of the aforementioned signs. After that, I saw that someone posted a video on YouTube on Monday in which they asked the folks behind the counter what happened to the SS stickers. A man behind the counter laughed, and then replied, “You losers need to find something better to do with your lives.”

When I spoke with someone at Franconi’s Pizza on Tuesday afternoon, they told me they couldn’t talk to me about the matter. Later, I called Franconi’s Wildwood and the person hung up on me after I identified myself. I called again and the person who answered the phone said, “I’m sorry about that,” after I explained why I was calling. Then they hung up on me.

Later, I called the original Franconi’s Pizza in Montgomery Township, which has been around since the 1990s. I asked the person who answered the phone if the Franconi’s Pizza in Montgomery Township is still connected to the Franconi’s Pizza in Wildwood. They said yes. So I asked that person about the Nazi stickers at the Wildwood location. They hung up on me as well. I also emailed two representatives of the Franconi’s Pizza organization asking them about the stickers in Wildwood. Haven’t heard from them.

Editor’s Note: This piece has been updated to correct the location of the original Franconi’s Pizza. We made the correction after receiving the below message from the mayor of North Wales, which is where we wrote that the original Franconi’s was located.

I’m the Mayor of North Wales Borough. I wanted to make a slight but important correction to your article. Clearly, the sentiments in the Wildwood location are reprehensible and have no place in our civil society. The Franconi’s location in Montgomery County is actually in Montgomery Township but has a North Wales address because it’s served by that post office. I know that may not seem like a big deal but the post office covers 4 different municipalities including our tiny borough. For better or worse, we get tagged in many stories inaccurately. Would greatly appreciate a correction!

Thanks!
Neil McDevitt
Mayor, North Wales Borough