Popular Fermanagh restaurant continues to evolve

In the heart of Fermanagh, Franco’s Restaurant has been a beloved culinary destination for nearly four decades. 

Established in 1986 by the parents of current owner Ruairi Sweeney, Franco’s has evolved from a small pizzeria into a 170-seater restaurant with European and Mediterranean cuisine, known for its authentic Neapolitan pizza and a menu rich in fresh seafood. 

Explaining how the popular Enniskillen eatery came to be, Ruairi said: "My father was an architect, but he had a keen interest in food. He had the idea to open a restaurant from the early eighties, but he wasn't initially sure of the theme. 

"At first, he considered fine-dining French cuisine since he was an excellent cook himself. However, after working on a few projects in London, where he designed and fitted out a couple of restaurants, he decided to pursue a more casual dining experience. Together, my parents got stuck into it and set up Franco's.

"It’s evolved quite considerably over the years. The middle part, which would be the old part, initially we only had about 45-50 seats, and then my father purchased next door and extended it. Our house was on the other side and then transformed the ground floor into the garden room, which is used for functions and so on."

The menu and seating capacity aren't the only things that have evolved, with Franco's also making important strides forward in energy efficiency and decarbonising the business.

Having grown tired of the space-consuming LPG (liquid petroleum gas) tanks, Ruairi recently made the decision to transition to the aptly named Evolve gas network and is now encouraging fellow commercial premises in the area to follow suit.

He said: "The issue with LPG is that you need to have tanks, and those tanks have to be placed a certain distance away from your premises. Additionally, LPG can be more expensive than gas.

"Switching to the gas network meant we no longer had to rely on big bulky tanks, which could run out unexpectedly. It was a hassle having to call someone to refill them, and we had these two large tanks sitting outside. By installing gas directly, everything became much simpler.

"You have to make some adjustments to your catering equipment when they go on to gas, but it's tidied things up well – it's cleaner and a much better set-up overall. I would encourage everybody to do it, because there’s a lot of businesses around me that haven’t subscribed to it yet."

As a forward-thinking business, Ruairi sees it as "long-term investment" for his restaurant. Across the wider town, however, he believes a "change of mindset" is required to shift away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels such as oil.

He added: "Unfortunately in this part of the world we’re still big into our oil boilers. There's the risk of it leaking as well – you hear of oil leaks all the time. When you convert to gas it's a different boiler and new style of heating, you just take it as you need it. It is a good system and it’s the way forward. I think eventually we'll see more conversions."

With Franco's continuing to evolve as a business, Ruairi is proud to maintain an inviting atmosphere for everyone, from locals to tourists.

"We are very child-friendly and cater to a lot of families," he said. "Children of all ages visit us, from babies to teenagers and beyond. We also attract a lot of tourists, with many visitors coming from Sligo, Belfast, Omagh, and other places.

"During the summer months — June, July, and August — we see an influx of international tourists, including Europeans, Americans, Austrians, and others. This year the town also hosted several big fishing competitions, which helped keep us busy."

Franco's traditional Neapolitan pizza also remains an ever-popular dish with customers – and a personal favourite of Ruairi’s.

"It’s the only Neapolitan pizza actually available in Fermanagh where we make our own dough and we ferment it for three days, and we the use the San Marzano tomatoes to make it an authentic Neapolitan pizza," he explained.

With its long-standing reputation for quality and family-friendly atmosphere, Franco’s continues to thrive under the leadership of Ruairi and his brother.

He said: "My mother took a step back several years ago, and now my brother Emmett and I run the restaurant. That’s where we are today — navigating through thick and thin."

For more information about upgrading to gas, visit evolvenetwork.com

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