For nearly 70 years, Frank & Helen’s in University City has been an essential part of the local dining landscape, beloved as much for its role as a community gathering place as its pizza, broasted chicken, and creamy garlic salad dressing. Now, the iconic restaurant faces an uncertain future. Owners Becca and Patrick Horvath say they’re at a crossroads: find a place to move or close their doors forever.
The reason for the predicament surrounds the sale of the building where Frank & Helen’s has operated since 1967. Although the Horvaths have owned the business since 2008, they did not own the building. According to Patrick, last September, the previous landlord sold the building to a new owner who was looking to open another restaurant concept in the space; after some negotiation, the Horvaths were given a one-year lease, with an end date of October 1.
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“In five months, we don’t have a home,” says Patrick. “We feel like we’ve explored all of our options and are missing something. We hate asking for help, but at this point, we have no other choice. We need someone to come along and say, ‘What about this?’ Trying to do the day to day on top of this gets wearisome, especially when we don’t feel like there is a way out. It feels like a time bomb is ticking. We feel helpless.”
Since the building’s sale, the Horvaths have looked for a new location, but it’s proven difficult so far. “We’ve been trying to come up with answers as far as keeping it going,” says Patrick. “The leasing prices are so high. If we have to do a buildout, it requires a loan. If we find a place of our own and redo it, it requires a loan. We are still recovering from [the pandemic], so the only way we can make it happen is if we win the lottery or find an angel investor.”
The Horvaths are not alone in a desire to keep Frank & Helen’s as part of the University City community. Becca says several city officials, including the mayor and city manager, have encouraged them to remain in the area and suggested a plot of land to build a new restaurant, a currently vacant lot at the intersection of Midland and Olive boulevards, though the Horvaths are concerned about securing the funds to build on the site.
“What we really need is a mentor,” says Becca. “We bought Frank & Helen’s because my husband was passionate about it, but we had no other sit-down restaurant experience and learned everything by trial and error. We’d love someone to help us figure out what’s involved in building a new restaurant.”
The Horvaths hope to connect with someone who can help provide advice about how to keep the Frank & Helen’s tradition alive. “We want to keep our flair, but we also want to make it more convenient for how people dine today and would love to even offer curbside or a drive-thru,” says Patrick. “That way, [customers] can keep coming back not just for the nostalgia but for the food. It’s like we are building another base on top of the one we have, but it absolutely has to be the right space, somewhere that carries on the tradition for people who have been coming here.”
Should they fail to find a new home, the Horvaths say they plan to make the next five months a celebration of the restaurant and give their guests as many opportunities as they can to pay their respects. This includes opening for lunch, which Becca notes is contingent on finding enough staff to help with what is sure to be an influx of diners eager to dine at their beloved spot one last time.
However, they hope it doesn’t come to that, because they understand how much their restaurant means to people. It means that much to them. Patrick recalls memories of the restaurant stretching back to his childhood. Their now-grown children grew up in the restaurant, and the regulars whose families have been patronizing Frank & Helen’s for generations are like family to them, he says. “We hear stories every day about what Frank & Helen’s means to people, and it’s what motivates us,” says Patrick. “It’s more than a business—it’s a way of life for people. It runs deep for them, and it runs deep for us.”
