A long-standing Jersey Shore pizzeria is at the center of a firestorm after online posts alleged Nazi and extremist stickers were displayed inside its kitchen — and less than a day later, a bomb threat forced police to evacuate the block where the business operates.
Franconi’s Pizza, a 20-year fixture on the Wildwood Boardwalk, came under fire this week after Reddit users shared photos appearing to show SS bolts and a Totenkopf — both symbols of Adolf Hitler’s notorious Schutzstaffel — on a refrigerator inside the restaurant. The symbols are still widely used by neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.
Other images posted online appeared to depict a Confederate flag and a Punisher skull — both of which have been co-opted by extremist movements in recent years. The viral Reddit threads triggered a wave of furious reactions and a torrent of one-star reviews across Yelp, prompting the platform to lock Franconi’s page and post a statement condemning racism.
“This business recently received increased public attention… we have temporarily disabled the ability to post here as we work to investigate the content,” Yelp said, adding, “racism has no place on Yelp and we unequivocally reject racism or discrimination in any form.”
Franconi’s refused to respond both by phone and in person when asked by reporters about the stickers. As of Thursday, the same sticker-covered refrigerator seen in the online photos was still in the restaurant, but the Nazi-related stickers had been removed.
In a video posted to YouTube and Reddit, a worker at the pizzeria dismissed the uproar, telling a customer, “you losers need to find something better to do with your lives” when asked about the imagery.
On Friday afternoon, the Wildwood Police Department received a bomb threat targeting a business on the 3300 block of the boardwalk — the same block where Franconi’s is located. Officers evacuated the area at 3:24 p.m., bringing in K-9 units to sweep the scene. No explosives were found, and the site was reopened to the public.
