For nearly 70 years, Frank & Helen’s Pizzeria has been a fixture in the University City community, serving as a warm gathering place for the motley crew of neighbors, police officers, families, high school students, and everyday folks who clamored into its storefront for some great pizza or broasted chicken.
Sadly, that beacon is about to go dark.
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
The restaurant announced on Tuesday afternoon that it would be closing its doors after service on December 8. The announcement follows a year-long search for a new location by the owners, Becca and Patrick Horvath, after their new landlord informed them earlier this year of her intent to open a different concept in the building that has housed the historic pizzeria since 1967.
“We have been on the search for over a year and after looking at two dozen buildings and talking to our banker, we have decided a move is just not feasible for us,” the Facebook post reads. “We are unwilling at this time in our lives to take out a million dollar loan. We will be closing Frank and Helen’s. Our last night of service will be 12/8/2024. Thank you for all your support during this process and look forward to seeing everyone between now and 12/8.”
SLM spoke with the Horvaths this past April, after news of a potential closure first came to light. As the husband-and-wife duo explained at the time, the building had been sold by their longtime landlord in September 2023 to a woman who was looking to open a restaurant of her own in the space. Although the Horvaths initially considered buying the building themselves, they could not take on the significant financial burden that it would have created for them, given the necessary repairs and maintenance required to keep it up and running. Instead, the Horvaths put their effort into finding a new location, though that also proved difficult.
“We’ve been trying to come up with answers as far as keeping it going,” Patrick said in April. “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 Backstory
In 1956, Julius Seitz founded Jule’s Pizza Place at the corner of Olive and Midland boulevards. Three years later, Julius sold the place to his brother, Frank, and the restaurant’s name changed to Frank’s Pizza. About a year later, Frank brought on his sister, Helen, as a partner, sealing the deal on the moniker for posterity.
Frank & Helen’s was an instant success, quickly endearing itself to its University City neighbors for its warm hospitality, comforting food, and family-friendly atmosphere. Eventually, it became so popular that it outgrew its small digs and relocated farther west on Olive Boulevard to its current location, a former car wash that became one of the St. Louis area’s most beloved dining spots.
The reasons for Frank & Helen’s success are numerous: the thin-crust pizza, the charbroiled steaks, the succulent broasted chicken, and, of course, that house creamy garlic dressing, which is such a closely held secret that, for most of his tenure, Frank insisted that he be the only one to make it so as not to give away his recipe. It was the hospitality that truly set the restaurant apart, though. Frank and Helen knew their guests by name, welcoming guests at the front door and often guiding them to tables denoted with “Reserved” placards. The owners’ presence was a constant until they retired and sold the restaurant to one of the restaurant’s servers, who eventually sold it to a University City police officer and his wife, who ran the place for about a decade. Finally, in 2008, the Horvaths purchased the business.
For 16 years, the couple have been stewards of that legacy, something they had hoped to continue well past December 8. As the Horvaths said in April, the idea of a University City without Frank & Helen’s is a thought that’s too difficult to bear. “We hear stories every day about what Frank & Helen’s means to people,” said 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.”
SLM has reached out to the Horvaths and will update this story as additional information becomes available.
