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Family celebrates opening of Matroni's restaurant on Exchange Street

Date: 9/22/2009

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE -- Mayor Michael Bissonnette said on Sept. 15 the opening of a new restaurant in downtown Chicopee shows how the area has changed.

Bissonnette noted that several years ago the Exchange Street area had been plagued by street crime, but walking patrols and other measures have cleaned up the neighborhood.

"And the result is this family making an investment [in Chicopee]," he said.

Bissonnette made the remarks at the busy grand opening of Matroni's at 140 1/2 Exchange St. While the business is the first restaurant for owners and Chicopee residents Jerry and Corina Forcier, the couple's business partner and chef, Bobby Cooley, has had 25 years of experience in the field.

City Councilor Chuck Swider said the new addition will be good for the neighborhood and congratulated the family for making the decision to start the business.

"It takes a lot in these times when people are closing [businesses] to take the initiative [to open]," Swider said.

He added the infrastructure improvements made to the downtown area pay off in businesses making the decision to come here.

Corina Forcier said the restaurant features pizza, grinders, wraps calzones, strombolis, wings, as well as complete dinners. The restaurant will be open seven days a week -- from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from noon to 9 p.m. on Sundays.

They also offer a delivery service and catering.

She noted many of the dishes are named for family and friends and explained with a smile the decision to open a restaurant on Exchange Street was while other ethnic groups have a presence in the neighborhood, there weren't any Italians.

Bissonnette said the new restaurant is "a piece of the puzzle in the revitalization of downtown."