Meet us where hospitality is served family-style
The legend here is that it was a hot summer day in 1991 when Vincent DiVencenzo Sr. drove past a vacant building on River Road in Schiller Park. It inspired him to open a restaurant serving Italian beef and sausage sandwiches, fresh-cut fries, and hot dogs.
He worked with his brother, Joe, and his parents Franca and Rosario DiVencenzo, to open the family restaurant called Frannie’s Beef and Catering, and the rest is history.
Frannie’s is famous for its Italian Sausage Sandwich, Homemade Meatball Sandwich, and Chili Dog. You can also order a delicious Chicken Italian Sandwich on French Bread.
Perhaps because the day was so warm when Vincent was first inspired to start a restaurant, the restaurant also serves cold Italian ice as the perfect end to a meal filled with good meat and good hospitality.
And, if meat isn’t your thing, perhaps you should visit Frannie’s on a Friday. This is when the DiVencenzo family serves a famous Egg and Pepper Sandwich (but only on Fridays!)
Frannie’s Beef and Catering is open Monday through Friday from 10am to 8pm, Saturday from 10am to 7:30pm, and Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
If you’re looking for the famed Egg and Pepper Sandwich, you’ll have to visit on a Friday!
Get an Italian Sausage Sandwich or an Italian Beef Sandwich for about $7. Make it a combo sandwich for $8. A Chili Dog is about $5, and a Chicken Italian Sandwich is about $7.
Frannie’s Beef and Catering is still in the DiVencenzo family. Today it is brothers Russ and Vince DiVencenzo who you’ll find serving up Italian beef at the restaurant.
It was the brothers who instituted the now-famous Pepper and Egg Sandwich that is served on Fridays. It was important to the DiVencenzo family to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent, so the Pepper and Egg Sandwich is served only on Fridays (with a side of sentimentality).
Located at 4304 River Road in Schiller Park, Frannie’s Beef and Catering is perched between Lawrence and Irving Park Road about 20 miles from downtown Chicago. Parking is free and plentiful.
