Frankie's
Our Story
By way of the East Coast, Frankie & Chris, better known as Mr. & Mrs. Pepperoni, met here in Las Vegas in 1994 at a live music venue downtown. Frankie, from Northeast Pennsylvania, just outside of Philly, and Chris, from Cranston, Rhode Island, both grew up in Italian families where food was the foundation. They were raised in areas where neighborhood food & drink establishments were more common than big-box brands or franchise fast-food joints.
The night they met; Frankie was persistent in trying to get Chris to chat. It wasn’t until he mentioned that his mother, who lived here in Vegas, made fried meatballs every Sunday, that Chris was willing to turn around and take him seriously. From that moment on, they talked about everything they had in common, and Frankie’s mom’s meatball recipe is what is now “A Couple-a Meatballs” on the FU menu. They were married in 1995 and started their family.
Throughout the last 30 years, they raised their family in South Summerlin and struggled to find a local bar & restaurant that reminded them of back home. After nights out on the town, they frequently drove around trying to figure out where they could stop in the neighborhood to bump into friends, know the owners, and not be surrounded by smoke, people gaming and ignoring everyone around them. Moreover, the food was “good for Vegas,” but really basic and sub-par.
Over the years, Chris & Frankie developed a network of friends, family, and colleagues that started to resemble their back-east upbringing. They often hosted parties for family and friends, employees of businesses they owned and operated, and their church. The groups and parties grew until they realized they were blessed with such a huge group of wonderful people around them that they not only needed more space to host these gatherings but some help in cooking and cleaning wouldn’t hurt either. After raising their children and becoming “empty nesters,” they started looking for a location to open a true neighborhood bar with great food where people would feel comfortable—a space that would be an extension of their home. They found a location across from what became the Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the Aviators, and immediately knew that this was where they would open Frankie’s Uptown.
After a year of operation, in April of 2020, Frankie’s was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The support from everyone during this time allowed us to survive a period so detrimental to our communities and small businesses. We realized that people started to come back to Frankie’s not only to support us but to enjoy being around people when it was safe to do so. The momentum began, and we gradually became a neighborhood favorite place to gather.
Every menu item was created by Chris and Frankie from family and friends’ recipes and dishes they’ve enjoyed over the years, mostly from the East Coast and some from Las Vegas.
Chris and Frankie’s true passion is being around friends and family, cooking for them, and delivering not only comfort food but a comfortable atmosphere where everyone feels safe, can be themselves, and have a great time. Any and every weekend, and many days of the week, you’ll see Frankie’s packed with people who know both of them, either from FU or pre-FU years. First-timers usually feel this community instantly and can’t wait to return for that same experience, which we often call the TRUE FU VIBE.
We feel truly blessed to serve you and appreciate everyone who comes to join us at Frankie’s. Thank you for your business, and we hope you enjoy your visit. If you don’t, please tell us—don’t complain to Yelp; they can’t do anything to make it better, but we can. The last thing you want is to give us a bad Yelp review that we could rectify, but if you don’t give us the chance, you just may get the dreaded response—NO FU FOR YOU. Avoid that at all costs, talk to us, ask for us; we’re here, and we care.