The Pasquarella Family: From left - Doreen, Frank, Renee, Christopher and Roxanne
Frankie in 1958, preparing his award-winning pizza
Frankie's 1957 Pizza Car.
Side of Frankie's Pizza
Located, just outside of metropolitan Miami in south-west Miami-Dade County, lies a small family-owned restaurant that continues to satisfy the taste-buds of many Italian pizza aficionados who long for the taste of the past. Billed as the "World's Finest Italian Pizza", Frankie's has been serving freshly baked pizza to thousands of loyal customers for 55 years.Frankie's, named after its founder Frank B. Pasquarella, is by far Miami's oldest pizza shop. After their honeymoon visit, Frank and his wife Doreen noticed that Miami had "plenty of italian restaurants but no pizza shops" to speak of. Armed with 150 baking trays, a Veterans' administration loan and a determination to succeed, they opened their first shop in South Miami, on Valentines Day 1955. Two years later they moved their operation to a small grocery shop located on Bird Road, and 91st Avenue flanked by farms, dirt roads and Everglades scenery. But Miami grew, and with it came the shopping malls and developments that are highly evident today. This unique "mom and pop" establishment has withstood the changes, trends and hardships that have threatened it through the years. It is the story of a community growing around their "beloved pizza shop", many of its loyal customers being fourth generation Frankie's Fanatics.
9118 Bird Road, Miami, FL 33165
(305) 221-0221