2020.06.04 THROW BACK THURSDAY - FRANKE'S . . . SOB! plus Birthdays

THROW BACK THURSDAY - FRANKE'S . . . SOB!  plus Birthdays

Speaking of historic restaurants, Franke's Cafeteria, in the Market Place Shopping Center, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, closed March 23 with a post on its Facebook page that it was shutting temporarily due to the covid-19 outbreak. Until last week, signs on and near the front door read, "Temporarily closed for covid-19." However, this week those signs have been replaced with signs that say, "Tenant: Please note that the locks have been changed for this space" with a phone number to contact "if you are needing access." That's on top of the cafeteria's phone number having been disconnected and the apparent disappearance of its website, frankescafeteria.com. Those ordinarily are indications that an establishment has closed permanently. Messages left for owner Abraham Delgado, formerly Franke's general manager who bought Franke's from Carolyn Franke in August 2018, for members of the Franke family and for the developer of the shopping center were not returned by deadline. Franke's downtown location in the Regions Bank Building, 400 W. Capitol Ave., closed in September. A Conway branch that opened May 23, 2019, in the former Dixie Cafe building at 1101 Fendley Drive, closed in February.

Franke's, one of the state's oldest restaurants, marked its centenary in 2019, 100 years after C.A. Franke founded it as a doughnut shop on West Capitol Avenue. In 1922, he built a large bakery at 111 W. Third St. and opened the original Franke's Cafeteria in 1924 at 115 W. Capitol, at Louisiana Street, where customers included shoppers at the major downtown department stores. A separate dining room subsequently opened around the corner at 511 Louisiana and shared the same kitchen.

The original cafeteria closed in 1960. "Branches" opened — and closed — over the years in Hot Springs, Fort Smith, North Little Rock's McCain Mall and Little Rock's University Mall. The location in what was originally the new First National Bank building, subsequently the First Commercial and now Regions, opened in 1989. The Rodney Parham Road cafeteria took over what had been Wyatt's Cafeteria in the fall of 1994.

Franke's son, William J. Franke, began running the operation in 1967. William Keliher "Bill" Franke, his grandson, took over in 1983. His wife, Carolyn, and their daughter, Christen Franke, also worked in the business. Christen, who became the manager after she got out of college, died in December 2016 at the age of 37. Bill, her father, died three months later in March 2017 at age 67.

Little Rock will never be the same without Franke's!!!

 CLASS NEWS:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOMMY THOMAS!!!  TODAY IS YOUR DAY

KENNETH HERMAN, JOYCE DUNCAN AND BOB RUSSELL, JUST MISSED YOU ALL ON THE first, second and third!

5     Linda Hill

6     Hammond Satterfield   -  Oh uh, now there's Trouble with a CAPITAL "T"!!!

7      Frank Wiggins

14   Pat Glass    -  remember when we always called her Patricia??  When did that change???

20   Dewana Price

23   Marcella Oglesby

25   Lynn Hansen

ML   

IT WORKED!  YEA!