Fortina announces a Yonkers location
Restaurant will be one of the new tenants in the historic Boyce Thompson Institute
Just one month after the opening of their Stamford location, the Fortina team announced they are going to do it again. This time in Yonkers.
Fortina in Yonkers will be the fourth location — the others are in Armonk, Rye Brook and Stamford — for chef-owner Christian Petroni, who is joined by partners John Nealon and Rob Krauss. They are hoping to open in December of 2016.
On an exclusive walk-through of the space, Petroni, Nealon and Krauss explained their plans for the nearly 6,000 square-foot space in the historic Boyce Thompson Institute building in Northwest Yonkers. While we expect the same crisped wood-fired pizzas, raucous music, and subway tile behind the long and lively bar offering a lengthy craft beer list, there are a few additional perks this time around: lots of outdoor seating, outdoor ovens, and a garden growing fresh tomatoes, basil and vegetables for the kitchen.
“We’re definitely going to do something weird here,” says Nealon, looking around at the soaring ceilings and massive windows lining each rustic, graffiti covered brick wall. He commented on the elevated kitchen in Fortina Stamford, which sits like a trophy overlooking the dining space. “It’s a cool opportunity to be in a building like this, it’s got a lot of history.”
They were invited by the building’s developers to visit the space and consider a Yonkers location in the new project that will include offices and retail, but the answer came easy.
“When I grew up, I spent a lot of time around here. All my friends were from around here,” says Petroni.
Can we call it a franchise yet? Not quite, says the Fortina group, though Nealon admits they have “quietly built some real restaurant monsters” out of some of their employees.
Staff members that followers of their social media might recognize by name at this point, like Luigi Bianco and Coby Blount, have been with them since the beginning in Armonk. They pride themselves on hiring people without experience, but a desire to learn and be a part of the team. And they promote from within, no matter the position.
“People keep talking about a shortage of cooks. I have no shortage of cooks,” says Nealon. He says that cooks start on dishes, and work their way up. The same goes for servers and bartenders.
There are about 50 employees at each Fortina location, though a few long-timers will bounce from Rye Brook to Armonk to Stamford depending on the day. Nealon says he plans to bring on another 50 for Yonkers. Most of their employees are in their 20’s or early 30’s, and eager to learn the restaurant business.
“We want to give people an opportunity to make a career out of this,” he says.
As the Fortina group continues to grow, it’s easy to wonder if they will lose some of the fun, and sometimes outrageous atmosphere that patrons have come to love. While word of the Armonk restaurant serving creative, modern Italian cuisine while pumping throwback “Jock Jams” hits might be out, they haven’t lost their humor.
“Alright, we just booked Maury Povich’s Christmas party,” said Nealon, putting his phone away and laughing.
Fortina in Yonkers, coming in Dec. 2016
Fortina, Boyce Thompson Center, 2 Executive Blvd., Yonkers. fortinapizza.com