After a decade of living in Italy and owning a restaurant, Franco and Lisa Marra moved to America with a dream of opening a trattoria where wholesome food was prepared for busy families. As a busy working mom, Lisa struggled to find time to make meals for her children without chemicals, artificial preservatives, or additives. The company they founded carries both their names: FraLi, for Franco and Lisa.
What reads today as gourmet was simply the Old World way of life: take the harvest in season and preserve it naturally, with recipes and techniques handed down from generation to generation. FraLi keeps those traditions. The dried pasta is naturally dried for 48 hours to lock in flavor, and the vegetables are packed in extra virgin olive oil, not brine, so they are good to the last drop. As the family puts it, the company virtually becomes your Italian grandmother, bringing fresh goodness to your table.
After more than a decade of serving fresh pasta in downtown Savannah, Franco and Lisa began talking about retirement. Their youngest son, Alessandro Marra, wanted to take over the family business, but not alone, so he reached out to a longtime best friend and childhood neighbor, Joshua Wooten, a veteran of Savannah’s food and beverage industry. In September 2023 the two officially took over as the new owners. Lisa and Franco are always close by.
