The Franks to Shutter Brooklyn Favorite Prime Meats in Massive Empire Switch-Up

Some big changes are happening in the Carroll Gardens empire of neighborhood favorites the Franks.

The duo of Frankies Spuntino Group are shuttering nearly decade-old steakhouse Prime Meats and expanding next door Italian staple Frankies 457 into the space, the Times reports. A wine bar’s opening in the former barroom, to be called Franks Wine Bar.

And nearby coffee shop Cafe Pedlar, which has been shuttered for a while, will soon be home to a pizza shop — with help of Long Island grandma and Sicilian-style pizza legend Umberto Corteo, a man credited with creating the first grandma pie. As many of the best new pizzerias are, Frankies Umberto will be a slice shop. Different ingredients will be used here than in Corteo’s Long Island shops, which have been around since 1965, but Corteo himself will be on site in Brooklyn, according to the Times.

Eater has reached out to the team for more info.

It’s a huge swap for the neighborhood, where Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli have made their name building go-to’s for both locals and destination diners in the last 14 years. Prime Meats, opened in 2009, has both a barroom and a warm dining room with lots of wood, and for years, it has been perpetually packed with people seeking its meats. Just after it opened, it received two stars in the Times for “simple” but “serious pleasures” and has spent time on the Eater 38. Frankies 457 has become an institution, serving stand-out Italian fare in both a cozy dining room and a lit-up backyard. The group has since expanded it to the West Village and sells products like olive oil in Whole Foods.

That institution status, apparently, is what the Franks are leaning into with the expansion of Frankies 457, which will make its way into another small building in addition to taking over Prime Meats. They tell Times that they want it to be like Peter Luger Steak House — laced with “tradition, longevity, and consistency,” as well as “something that’s going to live longer than us.” As part of the growth, the menu at Frankies 457 will get bigger too, with more vegetable dishes, fish, and sausages.

And the addition of Umberto’s-style pizza is pretty huge. New York has more pizza competition than ever, but the demand for it hasn’t seemed to slow down. Corteo’s Long Island buttery grandma slices have developed a cult following over the years. Famously, the Giants had the pies flown to Indianapolis before the 2012 Super Bowl to continue a tradition of eating the pizza before games.

Prime Meats will close in November, and the Frankies expansion into it should be open by then, too. Frankies Umberto will be open by the end of the year. Stay tuned for more.

• ‘The Franks’ Will Rework Their Brooklyn Restaurant Empire [NYT]