PALM COAST, Fla. — For Frank Loulousis and Eddie Ledezma, the ribbon cutting on Thursday, Jan. 15, marked the culmination of a three-year dream.
Married to sisters and originally from Chicago, the longtime friends envisioned a place in Palm Coast where residents could enjoy the authentic taste of Chicago cuisine right in their own backyard. Well-wishers gathered at City Marketplace to celebrate as the pair officially opened their first brick-and-mortar storefront with a ribbon cutting by HT Production Company.
What began as a modest operation under a 10-by-10 tent at the European Village Farmers Market has grown into a permanent destination. Along the way, Frankie’s Chicago-style fare appeared at Marina Munch in St. Augustine and later at Red Clover, each stop bringing them closer to a place of their own. Their journey, supporters say, is a textbook example of the American dream.
Loulousis, a former Chicago teacher of 20 years, beamed as family and friends surrounded him, while Ledezma could hardly contain his excitement as the ribbon was cut—between serving up the dishes that have made the duo well known along Florida’s First Coast.
“I was telling people about it, and then I started making it for the students. They said they really like it. And you know how it goes? They’re like, oh, this is really good, you should sell it or something. Right, yeah,” Loulousis said, recalling the restaurant’s humble beginnings.
For the partners, opening their own storefront was the natural next step.
“It’s amazing. Are you kidding? This is exactly what it should be. A little Chicago joint that serves, you know, just the best, you know, fast food,” he said.
100% Chicago Love
Everyone seems to have a Chicago story, and more often than not, it involves food.
Chicago natives Linda and Mike Domnamovits already knew what they wanted as they waited for their names to be called.
“We had already known about Frankie’s when he was over at the European Village. We discovered him over there when we came down here, because we were back and forth from Georgia,” said Linda, a devoted Chicago hot dog fan. “And it was just like, oh man, we found a Chicago place, we got to go check it out. And we did it. It’s authentic.”
“Oh, hell yeah. Not that ‘oh yes,’ oh hell yeah,” added Mike, whose favorite is the pizza.
Teacher and fellow Chicago native Candace Naddy shared a personal connection to the owners—her cousin taught Loulousis in high school, and she once substituted at the grammar school Ledezma attended.
“We just want to support them so bad, we tell everybody we know about them,” said Naddy, who plans to have the restaurant cater her next get-together.
“I think it’s absolutely awesome having food from Chicago. One of my favorites is the Italian beef sandwich with hot giardiniera. Until you’ve had one, you haven’t eaten,” added Ed Naddy.
Greg Feldman was ready to dig into a thin-crust pizza and praised both the food and the owners.
“This is a wonderful place, with local people and we should be out patronizing it. This is something that we have not had in Flagler County to the best of my knowledge, and this is just an unbelievable place. The food is fantastic, the people are really great and deserve all the kudos,” Feldman said.
