South Jersey’s Franco Tarantini, of Panzarotti fame, has died at 81

For most Americans, the combination of tomato, cheese, and dough translates immediately to pizza. For South Jerseyans, something else comes to mind: the Panzarotti.

A crispy, sauce-oozing, deep-fried pocket of pizza dough, the Panzarotti started gaining popularity in the U.S. in the 1960s. The Puglian treat (also known as a panzerotti) was first introduced to the area by Camden’s Tarantini family, whose matriarch, Pauline Tarantini, brought the recipe over from her native Brindisi, Italy.

As of Tuesday, the Tarantini family is mourning the loss of Franco Tarantini, one of Pauline’s sons, who furthered the family business and also launched his own shop, Franco’s Place, in the Westmont section of Haddon Township. He was 81.

One of 10 kids, Franco was just 15 when he emigrated to the U.S. with his parents and several siblings in 1958, according to an Inquirer article from 1964, the year Franco became a citizen along with his father, Leopold, and sister Anna. The family initially planned to live near a relative in Arizona, but they settled in Camden after the desert climate proved too inhospitable.

The Tarantinis first started peddling the cheesy pockets around 1960, after Leopold abruptly lost his job. To bring money in for the family, Pauline made Panzarotti, giving them to Leopold to sell at gas stations for a quarter apiece.

Originally called pizzelles, or little pizzas, the Italian treats were a lifesaver. “We wouldn’t be able to survive without [them],” Franco told The Inquirer in 1986. The family opened a tiny restaurant in their basement in 1961.

The name had changed to Panzarotti by 1963, when the family moved the restaurant — dubbed Pizza King — to the 349 Marlton Avenue storefront (now home to the Panzarotti Spot). Pauline also adapted her recipe to the American palate, swapping mozzarella for ricotta. The “new dish invented by Mrs. Tarantini ... tastes like pizza but looks like apple turnover,” the 1964 Inquirer story described. It was the birth of a soon-to-be South Jersey staple.

Early on, the Tarantinis began exploring how to mass-produce Panzarotti, which were initially stamped out with a coffee can, hand-pinched, and skillet-fried. Franco, along with brothers Sergio and Vincent, was tasked with selling them to other restaurants along with making them for in-house sales. The family had a Panzarotti truck that would park outside of local schools and other places at lunchtime. They successfully filed for a trademark in 1966, around the same time they first designed a conveyor-belt setup to streamline production.

The following years saw the expansion of an empire: Franco’s Place in Westmont, Vincent’s Pizza in Merchantville, and Mr. T’s in Northeast Philly (now closed). With time, the businesses were passed down to the next generation.

In 2001 the Tarantinis teamed up with a distributor to take Panzarottis nationwide. They started experimenting with freezing Panzarotti for national shipping and expanded their reach to area restaurants, schools, and stadiums.

Franco is credited with coming up with Panzarottinis, mini Panzarottis that you can buy frozen at Tarantini Panzarotti retail store at 2060 Springdale Rd., Cherry Hill. You can buy them fresh-cooked and steaming-hot at Franco’s Place (53 Haddon Ave, Haddon Township) for $1.25 apiece.