Frannie’s Restaurant Grand Reopening Aug. 25

For more than 20 years, Frannie’s Restaurant in Royal Palm Beach has been providing home-cooked meals in a comfortable atmosphere.

The popular eatery is known not only for its Southern-style food, but for its extensive history in the western communities.

VIDEO: Frannie’s Restaurant

The homegrown, family-owned and operated restaurant first opened on Southern Blvd. near the South Florida Fairgrounds, and used to be called the Frat House. When Southern Blvd. expanded, the original owner decided to move the restaurant to Royal Palm Beach, in the Royal Plaza at the corner of Southern and Royal Palm Beach boulevards.

Now under new ownership, Al and Margaret DiNuzzo are the third owners in the restaurant’s history. The DiNuzzos acquired the restaurant in May and did a soft reopening on June 16. They will be celebrating their grand reopening on Saturday, Aug. 25 with menu specials and balloons for the children, and they hope people will come in and try out the restaurant under its new ownership.

The DiNuzzos want to keep the same local, family atmosphere that the past owners offered, which they believe is strongly needed in the community. “We’ve looked around, and there really is no place to go eat, be cozy and relax while they eat,” Al said.

As experienced businesses owners, the DiNuzzos own other businesses in the community — Al’s Locksmith and Pizzano’s Pizza. “I owned a locksmith business for 30 years, and we both own a pizza shop that is in the same plaza,” Al said.

Frannie’s Restaurant serves country-style breakfast and lunch, and is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Some of the menu items include country-fried steak with mashed potatoes, biscuits and gravy, omelettes and hash browns.

The DiNuzzos kept most of the former owner’s menu items and tried to continue the same comfy feel. “We wanted to run the same type of business,” Al said.

They also kept the same chef but have all new servers. “We want everyone working here on the same page,” Al said. “We want a friendly environment in the front as much as in the back, and we got it.”

Frannie’s Restaurant also caters to business people, and offers a meeting room area for business breakfast or lunch. “If they want to come in and have a meeting, we have a side here that is kind of semi-private; that’s something we can do,” Al said.

Starting Sept. 3, Frannie’s will be offering a salad bar for lunch. “We will also have breakfast items at the salad bar, so that they can get grab-and-go food like muffins,” Al said.

The DiNuzzos want to meet the needs of all their clients, and encourage people to customize their orders or make suggestions on menu items. “We try up until the last minute to give them what they want,” Al said. “Like the other day, someone asked for horseradish with their fish, and we went and got it for them because every time someone asks for something that’s not on the menu, we provide it.”

The DiNuzzos want people to feel at home when they eat at Frannie’s Restaurant. “This is somewhere they can come in and read the paper without getting hassled by someone pressuring you to go because they need the table,” Al said.
Frannie’s Restaurant is located at 251 Royal Palm Beach Blvd. For more information, call (561) 766-1041.

Above: Owners Al and Margaret DiNuzzo inside Frannie’s Restaurant.