More than 70 years ago, Frankie's Pizza cofounders Frank and Doreen Pasquarella met at a small-town dance in Ohio: he, a charming baker's son from Steubenville, showing off his new car; she, from the neighboring town, defying family warnings about "those Steubenville boys." Their honeymoon trip to Miami in 1954 changed everything, when they noticed the city had plenty of Italian restaurants but was missing one key item: pizza.
A few months after that honeymoon, on Valentine's Day, 1955, they opened Frankie's Pizza. They used a Veterans Administration loan to start the business, with Frank loading his brother's bakery pans into the car trunk for the drive south. Using Frank's mother's recipes for sauce and dough, they opened their first location near the University of Miami.
"They came down here with nothing and created Frankie's," says their daughter, Roxanne Pasquarella, who now runs the pizzeria with her sister, Renee.
From the aforementioned spur-of-the-moment observation 70 years ago, the small family operation went on to help shape Miami's pizza culture for generations.
From Groves to Growth
In 1957, when the Pasquarellas moved their two-year-old pizzeria to a former grocery store on Bird Road (where it stands to this very day), they weren't setting up shop in the busy commercial corridor we know now. "Everything out here was just open land, with orange groves, horses, some cows, and not much else," Roxanne says of the site, a mile and a half west of the Palmetto Expressway. "That little grocery store, which later became this pizza shop, serviced this area and the people who lived out here."Those original baker's pans from Steubenville, Ohio, became the signature square shape that defines a Frankie's pie. Remarkably, some of those original pans still cook pizzas today, seven decades later.
The city grew up around the Pasquarellas' rectangular pies. Frank delivered pizzas through dormitory windows to University of Miami students under curfew, becoming so beloved he even became an honorary member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Locals learned to look for the blinking neon sign — now the last of its kind on Bird Road after the Pasquarellas fought to preserve it following Hurricane Andrew.
A Bird Road Time Capsule
Step into Frankie's today and you'll find a pizza shop that seems frozen in time. Nothing's moved since 1957: same counter, same ovens, same spot where the order tickets hang. The sisters maintain their parents' exacting standards, teaching new employees the Frankie's way through hands-on training rather than written manuals.Most workers start as teenagers from Southwest High School, learning the intricate ballet of ducking hot pans and swiveling pizzas in the tight galley-style kitchen. Even the free slice on top of every box, Frank's old marketing trick, remains standard practice.
"Walking into Frankie's puts you in another dimension," says South Florida historian Cesar Becerra. "It's a time machine."
Becerra, who documented Frankie's history in book form 20 years ago, has released an updated version to coincide with the 70th anniversary. The new edition, A Love Affair with Frankie's Pizza, adds Roxanne and Renee's story to the original text. "Every place has their story, and Frankie's is just an incredible story," Becerra tells New Times. "Now the bigger story is: How do you stay in business for 70 years? And you do so by doing absolutely nothing new."
The sauce at Frankie's Pizza is freshly made using tomatoes the shop grinds by hand starting at 5 a.m. daily
Photo by Burger Beast
No Cutting Corners at Frankie's
At 5 a.m. each day except Monday, a nine-hour process commences. The sisters grind fresh tomatoes for sauce, cut and grind their cheeses, and let the dough rise three separate times. The care behind each step shows in every square slice: a crisp crust surrounding a light, chewy center. The housemade sauce strikes a balance between tangy and sweet, a complement to the pepperoni rounds, which curl into cups in the oven, releasing savory oils that mingle with the tomato reduction. "A lot of people look at that and say it's too labor-intensive," Renee says. "But to us, it comes second nature."The family's dedication caught national attention in 1993, when Bon Appétit named Frankie's one of America's top eight gourmet pizzerias. The Godfather's Pizza chain even offered $1 million for their recipe. The family declined.
Among Frankie's enduring traditions, the half-baked pizzas have become a Miami institution. These partially cooked pies let customers achieve that fresh-from-the-oven experience at home. Through Goldbelly, these half-baked pies now travel far and wide around the country. During holidays, customers grab them for family gatherings. College students receive care packages of carefully packed eight-slice boxes. Some regulars keep their freezers stocked.
When developers offer to buy the property, promising the sisters will "never have to work another day," Renee's response goes right to the point: "But then what would I do?"
Seven Decades Strong
Enduring for 70 years required adapting while staying true to Frankie's roots. During the 2008 recession, the pizzeria launched a food truck to keep staff employed. When COVID-19 hit, their shipping business helped them stay afloat. "We have customers in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Texas," Roxanne says. "What's really special is seeing them walk through the door when they're back in Miami. We're now serving fourth generations of families."The Florida legislature honored Frankie's legacy in 2010, renaming the stretch of Bird Road from SW 89th Avenue to SW 92nd Avenue "Frank Pasquarella Way." Today, Frank's grandson Christopher, Roxanne's son, represents the third generation in the kitchen.
Frankie's platinum anniversary celebration spanned two weeks and featured programming curated by Becerra, including historical walks, documentary screenings, and a Valentine's Day party. The finale, a one-day-only cheeseburger pizza collaboration with local comfort food blogger Burger Beast, followed on February 15.
"It still seems surreal that it's 70," Renee says. "I don't want to call it an accomplishment, because it's not really that. This is our life. This is our home. This is what we do."
Frankie's Pizza. 9118 Bird Rd., Miami; 305-882-9925; frankiespizzamenu.com.
