Tybee Business Spotlight: Farace’s Finest
Recently opened earlier this year, Farace’s Finest is a pizza parlor that is bringing bold flavors, cold pints and laidback vibes to Tybee’s culinary scene. This welcome addition is quickly establishing itself as a favored island hotspot, and though the restaurant is new, its origin story dates back two decades. It all starts with the owner, Steve Farace, who had been living in Atlanta since 1996 and worked for Sweetwater Brewery there for 20 years. At the time, Atlanta and Savannah were the brewery’s primary markets, and Farace found himself in the Coastal Empire quite often, traveling for work.
“I had been coming out to Tybee because of Huc-A-Poos, honestly,” said Farace. “We sold so much beer in Savannah, it was amazing. Huc-A-Poos became one of our top ten accounts overall, so I knew and loved pizza on Tybee from the jump.”
Prior to joining Sweetwater, Farace had a restaurant background, which he applied to help the brewery open a full-service restaurant once the laws permitted in Atlanta. They built a multimillion-dollar establishment, hosting both patrons and private events while also launching local festivals like 420 Fest. As a multifaceted veteran of the hospitality industry, Farace had a longstanding desire to one day have his own restaurant.
“I was always half kidding, half not about my dream retirement of opening a pizza shop at the beach,” he said.
After his illustrious career in Atlanta, Farace decided to relocate, moving to Whitemarsh just last summer and landing right next to Auspicious Bakery. Not too long after arriving, he saw a commercial space become available on Tybee in December and so he went for it.
“In January, I had it under contract and let my mind wander as to what I could really accomplish down here, if we put some investment into it, built out the patio and brought in a talented team,” he said.
After doing exactly that, Farace’s Finest opened its doors on March 19th, just after St. Patrick’s Day, but well enough before the start of summer to find the groove.
“We missed that big rush of St. Patrick’s Day, but it gave us those weeks to get our feet underneath us, get staff trained, and get our operations dialed in. We intentionally opened with a smaller, limited menu to make sure we executed well,” said Farace. “We started with just a five-days-a-week schedule, Wednesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. As we were getting into season, I knew we needed to be open on Memorial Day. So I decided, let’s just rip the band-aid off and go seven days a week, at least through the summer.”
Since opening, Farace’s Finest has enjoyed a warm reception.
“It’s been great. . . Hopefully within the next couple of weeks, we’ll expand the menu and add a couple more pizzas and some additional sandwiches. I’m so excited about all those offerings to come,” Farace said.
The pizzeria’s menu features a selection of classic and specialty pies along with a few handhelds to enjoy on the beach. Aside from the ever-popular pepperoni, other pizzas that customers rave about are their Fancy Pants and the Foxy BBQ Chicken.
“On the Fancy Pants, we use arugula that we get from Davis Produce, and then we’ve got some real thin, sliced prosciutto on there. It’s a white pie with prosciutto, arugula, balsamic glaze and then fresh parm grated on top. I’ve been amazed at how well that’s been received,” said Farace. “The other one that we’ve seen really nice success with is the Foxy BBQ. That’s got Springer Mountain chicken with the barbecue sauce that comes from some friends of mine in Atlanta, the Fox Brothers. . . When I was looking for a barbecue sauce to go with this pie, I called those guys and they sent out a couple cases.”
Aside from the pizzas, Farace’s Finest also boasts a few toothsome sandwiches that patrons love to grab and go on their way to the beach.
“The Italian blows away everything else. It’s a cold sub on the Auspicious hoagie roll, and it’s got five different kinds of meats: mortadella, prosciutto, pepperoni, capicola, salami. And then we do a little provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, oil, vinegar and oregano. It’s just fantastic. I get a lot of folks who come here quite often as repeat customers specifically for that sandwich,” he said.
Patrons keep coming back because Farace’s Finest delivers top-quality food made from the freshest ingredients.
“We make the dough, we make the sauce, and we’re using the best quality ingredients we possibly can. We’re using Grande cheese, Springer Mountain chicken, Davis Produce for our tomatoes. We’re using Savannah Bee Company for our hot honey and Auspicious for our bread. It’s about doing the absolute finest of a product in a super casual environment,” said Farace.
It’s very clear that Farace’s Finest takes pride in collaborating with local purveyors.
“It’s critical. If we’re not part of a community, then we’re not really trying the way we should be. We’re trying to support other small businesses and help amplify their brand to my . . . group of customers,” he said, noting that the support has been reciprocal. “The folks from Auspicious have shared so many of my posts on social media that it just magnified the reach we had. So many people learned about us from that, and that’s really what I want — the opportunity to work with small businesses who care about the local neighborhood, the local community, the environment and who are just simpatico with what it is that we care about here.”
The team at Farace’s Finest demonstrates their care for the local community by offering a 10% locals discount for Tybee residents, and they uphold their commitment to the environment by becoming a member of the Turtle-Friendly Business Program, which is a collaboration between Fight Dirty Tybee and Tybee Island Main Street.
“No straws. No plastic bags,” he said. “And according to Tim Arnold, who’s in charge of that group, we’re the first restaurant that ever reached out prior to opening. So when we did our official ribbon cutting, it was also the certification from Fight Dirty Tybee that we were turtle friendly.”
Another point of distinction is that Farace’s Finest has no indoor seating. They do, however, have a spacious patio where live musicians play every Thursday through Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. Performers have included Eric Daubert, Eric Britt, Ben Kaiser, Kevin Rose, and Turtle & Joe among others. Diners can enjoy a fun variety of music from Americana to Bluegrass and contemporary covers. Farace has more plans for the patio as the business grows:
“In the future, I’d like to do movie nights out there, set up a projector screen, let the kids go on stage while the parents sit on the patio, and just make it a very family-friendly environment. I am going through the City of Tybee . . . to put a proper roof on the stage and on my upper patio. Then ultimately, I plan to build an outdoor bar as well.”
Speaking of the bar, Farace’s Finest has a solid beverage program featuring cold beer, — including a specialty brew by Dogfish Head called the Grateful Pale Ale — chilled wines, canned cocktails, and even a novel THC drink.
“I wanted to make it an experience where you can sit on the patio, have sunshine, have a pizza or a sandwich and a cold beer or two. That’s super important to me,” said Farace.
He encourages the public to come out and enjoy everything Farace’s Finest has to offer:
“We are trying to really elevate the pizza game on Tybee Island, specifically the south end. We have incredible quality . . . Everything is handmade . . . there’s a lot of prep and love that goes into what we put out. And it’s something that hopefully people will travel to find.”
With a community-centric focus, Farace envisions his establishment as a venue for future festivals and events where other local vendors can come together and create opportunity.
“It’s important for me to be part of this community and do as much as I can to give back, if I really expect to have any success down here,” he said. “Without it being a two-way street, it just doesn’t feel right.”
Open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Farace’s Finest is located at 1605 Inlet Ave. Visit faracesfinest.com to learn more.
