I’ve been waiting to go to Frank Abdnour and his family’s new sandwich restaurant, Frank’s: Home of Frank’s Famous Italian Beef. It just opened last month and I was waiting for the crowd’s to die down a little bit. Frank is the former owner of The Spotted Cow which was known for fantastic ice cream and for his fabulous Italian Beef Sandwich that he’s perfected over many decades.

Thinking about this new sandwich spot in Peoria Heights got me thinking about sandwiches and that led me to remembering Warren Zevon’s famous last appearance on the David Letterman Show. He had cancer and not long to live and David Letterman asked him if he realized something that the rest of us should know and he said the immortal words: “You’re reminded to enjoy every sandwich.”

That inspired me to start a new monthly series here on MBIP: “The MBIP Sandwich Of The Month Club - Enjoy Every Sandwich.”

And since reading about Frank’s new restaurant inspired these thoughts and that idea, that’s going to be our first stop!

I really miss that Italian Beef sandwich and so did everyone else in Peoria. The place opened on August 27th and was packed and sold out of beef the first couple of weeks. I thought I’d let it cool down a little bit and went last Thursday at about 1:30 in the afternoon, in between the lunch and dinner rush.

Here we are at Frank’s in Peoria Heights. It’s in the back of the Bust’d Brewery building on Prospect Avenue.

As I walked in, I saw a familiar face behind the counter…

It’s Frank Abdnour, who’s the namesake of this business and he owns it with his son, Noah and his daughter, Sydney.

Frank is a true pioneer in the Peoria foodscape. He was one of the first, if not the first push cart food sellers in Peoria. He sold tasty offerings from his push cart on Bradley’s campus starting back in 1984.

Then he opened the historic Spotted Cow restaurant in 1987. Frank sold The Spotted Cow in 2017 and now he’s back with Frank’s. This time he’s partnered with his son, Noah and his daughter Sydney is handling marketing and promotional business behind the scenes.

Frank’s one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met and it’s always a pleasure to see and chat with him.

I ordered the very first sandwich of this monthly food tour and my mouth is already watering with anticipation of that first tasty bite!

The menu here at Frank’s is pretty simple.

There’s the signature Italian Beef sandwich along with a variety of hot dogs including a coney dog, a Chicago dog and a Coney dog with cheese.

In addition, there’s also three freshly made submarine sandwiches to choose from. They also offer salads, drinks and chips.

As they prepare my sandwich, we’ll take some photos in here at Frank’s.

They have take-home sandwich bundles that you can heat up at home and there’s the selection of potato chips to add as a side dish to your sandwich or hot dog.

Frank said that very soon, ice cream novelties will be available in the shop for a sweet treat. He told me last week, that they should be available this week, so stop in and check it out!

**Update: Ice cream treats are now available, they just announced it on their facecrack page!

Here’s some of the art on the walls at Frank’s and the cow mural on the wall was painted by local artist, Izzy Turner.

Here’s some photos on the wall including Frank with a cow, Frank featured in a 40 Leaders Under 40 group and there’s Frank with his new business partner, his son Noah at a White Sox game.

Frank said Noah would be coming in to work soon, so hopefully we can meet him before we leave today!

Frank’s is mainly a takeout business but there is one table and two chairs in here but I decided to…

Enjoy my sandwich at the outside dining area. I found a nice slice of shade and parked myself on a char at that table.

Okay, time for this month’s sandwich reveal…

Wow, I haven’t had a Frank’s Italian Beef in years and this looks absolutely fantastic.

It’s unleashing all kinds of tasty memories, time to dig in!

Wow, this is such a delicious and savory sandwich!

The beef is slow roasted for over 18 hours and seasoned with Frank’s secret and time-tested recipe. The sandwich is soaked in the tasty au-jus and I got mine with peppers and cheese.

The hoagie roll is bakery fresh and the perfect vessel for this tasty and tender Italian Beef sandwich that melts in your mouth with a unique and sensational savory flavor.

If you’ve never had a Frank’s Italian Beef sandwich, you need to get over to Frank’s today and try it out! They’re open Monday through Thursday from 11am to 7pm and Friday and Saturday from 11am to 8pm. They are closed on Sundays, so stay at home and make your own Sunday dinner then!

After devouring that tasty and fantastic Italian Beef sandwich, I checked back inside and met Frank’s son, Noah, who has partnered up with his dad to run Frank’s.

It was a pleasure to meet Noah and always fabulous to see, Frank! Best of luck with the new business and thanks for bringing back a beloved Peoria sandwich!