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SHORT ORDERS
[ S T. L O U I S S TA N D A R D S ]
Slice of Life Opened in 1956, Frank & Helen’s Pizzeria is a St. Louis family tradition Written by
CHERYL BAEHR
W
hen Rebecca Horvath wants to get across just how seriously she takes her role as a steward of the Frank & Helen’s Pizzeria legacy, she brings up the light fi tures. The jewel-toned, vintage Tiffany-style chandeliers have been casting a warm glow over the restaurant’s dining room for decades — through generations of diners, three ownership changes and the necessary updates to the old cinderblock building. On Horvath’s watch, that will never change. “We’ve done updates, but this still looks like a 1970s pizzeria, and we want to keep it that way,” orvath says. The lights are e tra special. Even if we remodeled the entire place, we’d still keep the lights. I have my staff ask me what we’d do if there was a fire, and tell them that everyone needs to grab a light and run.” Whether or not those chandeliers have been hanging at Frank & Helen’s since its beginnings in 1956 is one of those details lost to history. What is known is that the restaurant wasn’t started by Frank or Helen. Founded as Jule’s Pizza Place at the corner of Olive and Midland boulevards by Julius Seitz 65 years ago, the restaurant would undergo its name change when Julius sold the place to his brother, Frank, in 1959. Frank changed the name to Frank’s Pizza, but that would be short-lived; about a year later, he brought on his sister, Helen, as a partner, sealing the deal on the moniker for posterity. Though there were several restaurants along that stretch of Olive Boulevard that catered to the area’s families and high school students, Frank & Helen’s became a favorite and quickly grew out of its space. Though the brother
22
RIVERFRONT TIMES
AUGUST 25-31, 2021
“The lights are extra special,” says owner Rebecca Horvath. Everything is proudly old school at Frank and Helen’s. “We make our pizze the old-fashioned way and haven’t changed our recipes,” she says. Over the decades, sitting down together as a family here has become a tradition that extends across generations. | ANDY PAULISSEN
riverfronttimes.com
