Brooklyn ravioli shop comes to Aberdeen
Brothers opened Fratelli franchise over the summer
BY MICHELLE ROSENBERG
Staff Writer

ABERDEEN — Fifteen varieties of ravioli, 15 varieties of sauce, and fresh mozzarella. Cannoli, spumoni and tiramisu. Chicken parmigiana, pizza, lattes and much more are now available locally, since two Staten Island brothers opened a ravioli shop that is based on a Brooklyn-born pasta concept.

The Lombardi brothers are now offering Italian specialties without the hassle of traveling to Little Italy. Chris and Matt Lombardi opened a franchise of the Fratelli Ravioli Shop and Café on June 3 on Route 34 in Aberdeen.

“The people are thanking us for coming. Everybody was still going back to Staten Island,” Chris said.

“That’s what was so surprising — the brand recognition,” Matt said.

The Fratelli Ravioli concept originated in Brooklyn in 1978. There are currently franchises in Brooklyn and Connecticut, along with the Aberdeen location.

When the Lombardi brothers were growing up, their parents shopped in Fratelli stores. About a year ago, they decided that they wanted to go into the restaurant business. Both brothers worked in corporate America, but decided it was time to chase their true interest.

“It’s our passion; we love food. We grew up on this food. It’s just a natural fit,” Chris said.

“It’s different from the corporate world. It’s nice to build something for yourself and your family,” Matt said.

There are two reasons they chose to invest in the Fratelli Ravioli franchise.

“The Fratelli name gave us instant credibility,” Chris said. In addition, “this is the food we grew up on — the food we love. Our mom shopped at Fratelli when we were kids,” he said. “That’s what sold us: eating the product.”

After the brothers bought into the franchise, they were required to go through a training period. They said the period was a breeze because they have been around this food, and the restaurant business in general all their lives.

“They trained us on-site, but we already knew the products and how to work the mechanical equipment,” Chris said.

“The training for us was less because we’ve already been around food,” Matt said.

Their father, Nick, owned a deli in Staten Island for over 20 years.

The Lombardi brothers have taken the pasta concept and given it a new twist. They turned their store into a restaurant, where people can come in, sit down and eat.

“People are not used to the setting. You can sit, which you can’t do in the New York stores,” Matt said.

The store gets shipments almost daily from the corporate headquarters in Brooklyn, where most of the food is made. The brothers also prepare some of the food right there in the store. For example, they make an average of 50 pounds of fresh mozzarella daily.

They also sell hundreds of boxes of ravioli a day. The ravioli come in a variety of flavors, including chicken ravioli, tofu ravioli, broccoli and cheddar ravioli, pumpkin ravioli and even heart-shaped ravioli.

“It’s nice to have a variety. Sometimes you need a change,” Chris said.

Among the sauces are tomato vodka, garden vegetable, walnut and Alfredo.

“People always come back for sauce. The sauces are so good that people try to pass them off as their own,” Matt said.

“A lot of people tell me that they don’t like jarred sauce, but as soon as they taste it, they always come back,” Matt said.

The Lombardi brothers are happy to have brought the business to Monmouth County and, more specifically, the township of Aberdeen.

“We enjoy being a part of the community,” said Matt.

The brothers are very pleased with the success of their store and plan to open more franchises throughout the county in the future.

“We think there’s a lot of room for growth here with this type of concept, and it’s a good feeling to bring back a piece of the old neighborhood,” Chris said.