We
Have
A GREAT
HISTORY
OUR HISTORY
Faneek’s has been a Fall River, MA icon since 1966 but there is so much you don’t know!
When the state of Massachusetts decided they wanted to put route 24 through Stafford road… right where Faneek’s was originally located… The property was taken by eminent domain and Faneek’s was forced to move to 269 Rhode Island Ave where it has resided ever since.
Did you know that Faneek’s used to be located on Stafford road? It’s true, the Faneek’s lounge was a popular spot for wedding receptions in the late 1950s. We actually have a picture of the original Faneek’s hanging on our walls with our Fall River timeline! So many people mention their parents or grandparents reception being held there but since it was the 1950s (before photography was a popular feature on your cell phone) it has been rather difficult locating pictures from the inside of Faneek’s lounge.
Al and Alice had a rather unique experience in the first year they owned Faneek’s. You see, they agreed that Faneek could still live in the back even after he sold the business to the Ploude’s! The year was 1978 and if anyone knows this year the first thing you will think of is the mighty blizzard of 1978. So not only did they have Faneek squatting in the back room they had a blizzard on their hands! And here’s the kicker, they never closed! Because Faneek lived there he was able to help out and he kept Faneek’s doors open for all the snow plow drivers and shovelers. Always with a hot pot of coffee at ready.
Tony “Faneek” Fernandes was the guy behind Faneek’s. He was an eccentric man and many of his buddies called him Faneek. After looking into this to figure out the origins of the word Faneek we discovered it is the word fanatic translated to Portuguese translated back to broken English. So Faneek means “fanatic”. When Mr. Faneek moved to Rhode Island Ave he also moved himself in! That’s right, he lived in the backroom where our counter and fryers currently are. He would open up early to share a cup of coffee with his buddies and was also known for hosting backroom poker games. And did we mention his clocks? Apparently Faneek was an avid clock collector and anyone who walked into Faneek’s would have been surrounded by all his clocks all over the walls. Presently we still have two of his clocks, he took the rest of them with him when he sold Faneek’s to Al and Alice Ploude.
Dave sold Faneek’s to his sister and brother-in-law, Marge and Bob Carpenter, in 2001. They held onto ownership until 2017. During their time, Marge and Bob added three fryers and came up with the recipe for our present day fish batter and clam cakes. They also changed the color scheme of Faneek’s to green. Everything was green, the exterior of the building, the interior walls, the dining room carpet, the bathroom. Green is known to illicit hunger, so when you looked at Faneek’s you immediately got hungry! Marge worked hard putting together a Fall River timeline in pictures, which still dons the walls of Faneek’s to this day.
Through the years Faneek’s has had many changes. Al and Alice sold Faneek’s to their son, Dave, in 1993. During Dave’s tenure at Faneek’s he did a complete remodel of the interior moving the grill from the front of the restaurant to the backroom, formerly known as Faneek’s living quarters. Throughout the 8 years under Dave’s ownership Dave would often bring his kids in and many of them remember growing up with Faneek’s. Customers to this day still reminisce about the pitter patter of tiny feat.
Once Faneek’s was handed over to Liz and Chris, Faneek’s saw another remodel. Liz and Chris decided to take out the carpet in the dining room, change the color scheme to gray and blue, and reorganized the pictures in chronological order. Customers love looking at these pictures and reminiscing of simpler times. In 2018 the Phantom Gourmet, a New England restaurant show, came to film a segment at Faneek’s. You can still see the episode aired every now and again on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Everything was going amazing for Liz and Chris, sales were trending very positive and it looked like 2020 was going to be a blow out record breaking sales year… and then came the pandemic.
In 2017 Marge and Bob were ready to call it quits. Faneek’s was initially supposed to be sold to their son Rob and his wife Karen. Rob and Karen both worked at Faneek’s as managers. But when the time came to pass the reins to Rob and Karen they fell short and decided to go in a different direction. Now the question was, who are we going to pass Faneek’s on to? They reached out to their second son Chris. Chris went home and sat down for dinner with his wife, Liz. Over dinner they discussed the opportunity to buy Faneek’s and 8 hours later they said YES! Chris was working as a Director of Sales and Marketing for a national brand and it was decided that he would stay in that role while Liz left her career in Data analytics to run Faneek’s.
They finished strong and breezed through the pandemic shutdowns. And then came July 2021 and the phenomenon known as “The Great Resignation”. During this time 6 million Americans left their jobs for no apparent reason. And Faneek’s was not immune to this. One by one, their employees left, forcing Faneek’s to shut down for the first time since the start of the pandemic. This happened again and again and finally in January of 2022 LIz was at a loss for words. She actually reached out to a real estate agent to see what they could get if they sold the building. Digging in deep, Liz realized this was not what she wanted for Faneek’s so she persevered through the next year with just two employees. This got Liz thinking, how do I ensure our family legacy when employees don’t show up to work? Her answer was a great one. She walked into Hope & Main, a shared use community kitchen located in Warren RI, and spoke with them about how she can bring her Coney Sauce to market. The answer was simple, take the meat out and create a spice concentrate. Genius!
Scouring the news daily for updates, Liz and Chris struggled to comprehend how Faneek’s was going to survive a massive shutdown. Luckily when Charlie Baker, Massachusetts then Governor, issued his shutdown plans and shuttered dining rooms he did allow walk up windows and drive throughs. Thank goodness Marge had thought to add a walk up window during her tenure! So it was decided that since the world was turned upside down Faneek’s was to remain open. This decision was a very difficult one with so much uncertainty. But, the reason behind staying open was simple. Liz has been a huge proponent in community support and she wanted to remain open so Faneek’s could provide the local community some semblance of normalcy. She got to work rearranging everything and creating signage, she even created a car hop program that allowed customers to order from their cars and have no contact with the wait staff.
For the next year, Liz worked with a process authority to develop a shelf stable spice mix concentrate that met FDA requirements. In September of 2022 the Faneek’s Coney Sauce Mix was born! Since September, Liz and Chris have managed to get their Coney Sauce Mix into 20 different retailers and they were just picked up by Stop & Shop. Their goal is to be nationwide by 2028. So not only are they able to ensure their family legacy lives on, they made it 100 times stronger! You can now find it at Dave’s Markets throughout Rhode Island, several local retailers in the Fall River/Somerset, MA area, and also on Amazon!
This story should inspire any small business. Know that you are capable and you can do whatever you put your mind to.
For the next year, Liz worked with a process authority to develop a shelf stable spice mix concentrate that met FDA requirements. In September of 2022 the Faneek’s Coney Sauce Mix was born! Since September, Liz and Chris have managed to get their Coney Sauce Mix into 20 different retailers and they were just picked up by Stop & Shop. Their goal is to be nationwide by 2028. So not only are they able to ensure their family legacy lives on, they made it 100 times stronger! You can now find it at Dave’s Markets throughout Rhode Island, several local retailers in the Fall River/Somerset, MA area, and also on Amazon!