History

On January 13,1989, Faccia Luna opened its first 120-seat restaurant at 2400 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC. Faccia Luna became a chain on December 5, 1991, when a 122-seat restaurant opened in State College, PA. Our third restaurant was added on October 17, 1992, when Faccia Luna opened a 122-seat restaurant in the Clarendon section of Arlington, VA. The fourth restaurant was opened in November 1996, in Old Town Alexandria, VA and seats 122.The DC location was sold to one of our original pizza makers in June 2004. In August 2007, the newest Faccia Luna opened in Scranton, PA at 501 N. Main Street and seats 150 with space available for private parties. All restaurants are located in urban neighborhood settings with a large walk-in clientele. This is the market Faccia Luna seeks and this is the market that drives the look of the concept.

Faccia Luna is a collaboration between two Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity brothers at Penn State, Bill McFadden and Joe Corey. Bill McFadden started the concept in Bellefonte, PA, where he introduced pizza to his then recently purchased restaurant, the Hofbrau House. It is there that he pioneered the concept of an urban, upscale pizzeria different from those offered by the chains and the typical mom-and-pop corner shops. The Hofbrau had high leather booths, wood paneling and other amenities found in neighborhood restaurants and served as the working prototype. When Joe Corey approached Bill in 1988 to open a pizza restaurant in an urban, Washington, DC neighborhood, both were of the same mind in the desire to open a pizzeria that looked more like an urban trattoria than the tired old corner pizzeria with its ubiquitous red-checkered oil-clothed table and candle wax-covered Chianti bottles.

In keeping with their vision, Faccia Luna restaurants are indeed urban trattorias specializing in wood-oven pizza (except in Arlington), fresh pasta, salads, sandwiches, and appetizers. Faccia Luna also boasts a very solid Italian estate-bottled wine list and a wide variety of American microbrews. Their ideas have been further cemented with the hiring of chefs from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America.

Faccia Luna specializes in quality, and the operating principle of the company is that "you can always upgrade." Faccia Luna has never been accused of compromising its commitment to quality.

The commitment to quality, coupled with an upscale, urban design has made Faccia Luna a natural fit in neighborhood settings. The visual warmth and comfort is accomplished by an open kitchen, as well as the use of earthy Tuscan colors, cherry and maple woodwork and 20's and 30's-era black-and-white photographs.

The setting, although casual, has an air of understated sophistication. As a result, Faccia Luna is a "first date" destination and a sentimental favorite. A number of its customers (at least five that we know of) who had their first date at Faccia Luna have returned to the restaurant to pop the question. Two have had their wedding receptions at Faccia Luna. It truly is a neighborhood hangout. Faccia Luna also supports its neighborhood schools, civic associations and other community groups.