Here’s the Columbus restaurant replacing the former Peppone’s Risorante Pizzeria
Sharky’s Fish and Chicken on Manchester Expressway is now open, replacing Peppone’s Risorante Pizzeria that closed late last year.
Betty Torres, who owns Sharky’s with her husband Chris, opened the location earlier this month. Formerly known as Shark’s Fish and Chicken, the restaurant’s name and brand was changed to avoid customers confusing it with other Columbus restaurants with the same name.
Shark’s Fish and Chicken locations on Wynnton Road, Buena Vista Road, Veterans Parkway and Milgen Road are all operated by different owners.
The Torres family also owns the Shark’s on Victory Drive. That location will move across the street, Torres said, and the new Sharky’s name will be incorporated at that time.
Changing the name is the first step in creating a separate identity from the other independently owned restaurants, Torres said.
“We may incorporate the name change before that because I think it’s recognition for what you do,” Torres said.
Sharky’s menu will continue to feature fish, shrimp and chicken dinners. Customers can order a fish and chicken combo with their choice of two items that range from catfish to gizzards, tilapia or liver.
“We have the fried rice,” Torres said.
Individuals who would like healthy options have a variety of salads they can choose from such as the Greek salad, grilled fish salad and chicken salad.
A new item Sharky’s has incorporated are tacos that people can get with fish, shrimp or chicken, she said.
“We’ve got a new (chicken) wing flavor,” Torres said. “It’s a barbecue dry rub. It’s really something different.”
While she helps operate the restaurants, Torres credits her husband, Chris, as being the one to get the family into the business. Chris worked as a cook for the original owner of the Shark’s restaurants, she said. When the owner decided to move out of Columbus, he sold the Shark’s Victory Drive location to Chris.
The couple works as a team to keep things running smoothly, she said. Chris runs back and forth from both locations to make sure everything is right and helps cook, Torres said, while she helps run the front the customer-facing aspects of the business.
Torres hopes customers will appreciate the quality of the food and customer service the new Sharky’s will provide.
“We put time into the menu,” she said. “We put time into all the customers. And we’re going to have everything out hot and fresh the way (customers) want it.”
