Couple stepping away from popular restaurant

WEST PITTSTON – When Fred Marianacci graduated from Wyoming Area School District in 1971, he had two goals: to teach school and to coach football.

After graduating from Wilkes 1976, life took him in different direction derailing his dream.

Fred’s family owned Marianacci’s Restaurant, which had been a staple on Eighth Street for many years. The business has changed hands through the decades until his parents Dominic and Blodwyn Marianacci took over in 1972.

Upon graduating from Wilkes, the family business enlisted the then 23-year-old Fred’s help with day-to-day operations so teaching and coaching had to be placed on a backburner.

“My dad worked part time for my uncle at the restaurant from 1952 to 1972 and then in 1972 we bought the restaurant,” Marianacci explained. “I started at the restaurant, full time, in 1976. Even with plans to teach and coach, family came first.”

Marianacci’s older brother Nick’s life took a similar path in life but just a few years ahead of Fred. After Nick graduated from Stroudsburg University, he started at the restaurant.

“I wanted to teach and coach, so did my brother, and when my mom got sick, they needed help at the restaurant,” Marianacci said. “That’s what happened. I started working at the restaurant and the next thing you know, I’m 67. I never had a job anywhere elsewhere other than the restaurant.”

When the Marianacci’s father passed away in 2005, the partnership with the brothers began in earnest.

When Marianacci was a teenager, he worked at the restaurant, as his part-time job.

“I was hands on and when it wasn’t football season I’d work there on weekends and when it was time for me to step up, the transition was easy,” Marianacci admitted. “Literally Sunday was my only day off.”

After he had been in partnership with his brother, Marianacci got to fulfill one of his childhood dreams to coach high school football at Wyoming Area. That was a roll he held for nearly 25 years.

“I worked with Paul Marranca and Randy Spencer where Spencer and I started out as freshman coaches together,” Marianacci recalled. “When Randy took over as head coach, he took me with him.”

While coaching, Marianacci worked with special teams, kickers, punters and then later quarterbacks, a position he played while a student at Wyoming Area.

“Honestly, when I look back, I don’t know how I did it,” Marianacci admitted. “I worked full time and then coached full time. I was both seven days a week, including studying films with the coaches and team on Sundays during the season.”

Marianacci said if it wasn’t for his understanding brother and partner, Nick, and wife, Patti, coaching might not have been possible. Both brothers managed to have each other’s back when dealing with coaching, parenting, vacations or just time off in general.

In the 1990s, Patti, who was no stranger to working in the restaurant business, began working at Marianacci’s. Patti’s family owned a restaurant for many years where Patti was involved in an unofficial capacity.

“Once our children were off to school, my wife became a huge part of our business,” Marianacci noted. “She was a fabulous asset making all the homemade deserts and she took a lot of pressure off my brother and I and we leaned on her a lot. I can’t say enough about Patti and how she became so valuable to the restaurant and day-to-day operations.”

Adding Patti to the lineup allowed the Marianacci brothers more flexibility to direct their attention to other matters both professionally and personally.

Marianacci and his wife have many great memories while working at the restaurant that includes so many of their loyal customers, family and friends over the years.

The biggest thrill for Fred was when he cooked for Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who at the time was the Dean of the College of Cardinals and Cardinal Secretary of State under several popes in Rome.

“Cardinal Sodano was a special guest of Fr. Paul (McDonnell) at the Oblates of St. Joseph and for three days, we had the chance to cook for him,” Marianacci said. “That was quite the honor.”

As late as 18 months ago, Marianacci’s faced a huge challenge when Auto Zone in Hazleton asked Marianacci’s to cater a job, making 755 cooked-to-order steaks for their 600-plus employees.

“My brother and I were cooking steaks as they came through and it was great, but it wasn’t something I’d want to do every month,” Marianacci quipped. “It was just exhausting.”

It goes without saying the pandemic was and has been a challenge for the family restaurant, but Marianacci credits their loyal base for keeping them afloat during the crisis. Marianacci’s take-out business was booming and Fred said because of that, they never had to close their doors.

Now at 67 years old and after having to face some health issues in the past, Marianacci is feeling great and is ready for the next chapter of his life with his beloved wife, Patti.

“Patti and I are both done,” Marianacci said, of he and his wife’s retirement. “We thought about it about 8 months ago and what prompted it was my brother (Nick) wanted to retire and he wanted to replace his own position with his son (Dominic).”

Marianacci believes he was at a stage of his life where he didn’t want to enter another partnership or have to retrain a partner so he felt this was a good time to bow out of the industry.

As for Marianacci’s brother Nick, age 70, he too will soon retire but will hang on a bit longer until the transition from himself to his son is complete.

As for now, Fred and his wife are eager to see where life will take them at they look into the future.

“This is an opportunity of us and God has shown us and we prayed over it and it’s really been a blessing,” Marianacci said. “The ability to get out in a timely fashion while we can still enjoy doing things that other people do. If we want to go to Florida to walk on the beach or if we want to go for a hike at Frances Slocum or skiing, we’re able to do it. What are we waiting for?”