Martin Sherrod, left and Clint Sherrod of the Sherrod Sign Co. changed the sign on Gratzi’s, on North Broadway in Lexington, to its new name, Fazoli’s, on Feb. 10, 1989. Jerrico’s first Italian fast-food first restaurant on North Broadway near the Interstate 75-64 interchange had been operated by Jerrico as Gratzi’s name since September 1988. But surveys of potential customers showed that they confused the name — taken from the Italian word for “thank you” — with the name of Canadian-born hockey player Wayne Gretzky, said Robert L. Sirkis, Jerrico’s executive vice president. After hiring three naming firms and looking at tens of thousands of names, Jerrico decided to replace Gratzi’s with Fazoli’s, which means … nothing. “It is completely made up,” Sirkis said. Fazoli’s, based in Lexington, currently operates 217 restaurants in 26 states.  Photo by Clay Owen | Staff