Frankie's employees and members of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce celebrate the restaurant's ribbon-cutting. (Adrian Gandara/Community Impact)
Frankie’s New York Style Pizza & Pasta marked a new milestone with a ribbon-cutting Sept. 29. The restaurant reopened in January after a fire in 2024 hit several businesses on the strip, forcing Frankie’s to close.
Meet the owner
Owner Frank Nikshiqi’s 35-year career started in Manhattan in a high-class restaurant, he said. Over the years, he’s opened several restaurants across Texas, keeping one for so many years before selling it and moving somewhere else he’d like to live.
Nikshiqi has had restaurants in Abilene, Dallas and Baytown. There’s a Frankie’s in Beaumont now owned by his nephew but still bearing his name, he said.
“Everywhere I go, I leave my name behind,” Nikshiqi said.
Owner Frank Nikshiqi speaks with diners after the ribbon-cutting.Adrian Gandara/Community Impact
Frankie’s New York Style Pizza & Pasta was at its previous location for 10 years before moving to the current spot. Then, after spending so much money to fix the space, Nikshiqi said, the building caught fire.
Being a family restaurant, it was a difficult time with everyone unemployed. There were still bills to pay, and people had to take jobs such as with Uber to make a living, he said.
“But thanks God, now we open,” he said. “We have loyal customers. They don't forget about us. They come in again, and they're very happy, and we are very happy with them, too.”
On the menu
Everything is fresh, Nikshiqi said, and everything is made from scratch.
The restaurant’s New York-style pizzas use a secret recipe for the sauce, and the kitchen staff make their own dough.
“We try not to cut corners because it's family-owned,” Nikshiqi said. “We try best we can to treat our customers like they’re family.”
Frankie's serves a variety of New York-style pizzas.Adrian Gandara/Community Impact
When asked what the customer favorites on the menu are, Nikshiqi said, “They like everything.” But he said different people may have different favorites. Someone may like the lasagna, while someone else might like the cannelloni because of the cheese and spinach.
The restaurant also offers salads and pastas, chicken and seafood entrees, and desserts.
A new chapter
Nikshiqi and Frankie’s New York Style Pizza & Pasta have been in Georgetown for 12 years now.
“They're good people,” Nikshiqi said of the community. “I like to live here. It's nice place.”
He said they would like to have some more business after the reopening and the ribbon-cutting, but the business they've had has been good.
"It's been good," Nikshiqi said. “Thanks God, it's been good."
