Arrivederci Austin
Austin's summer of restaurant shutters claims iconic downtown pizzeria
A month after learning the Frisco was closing after 65 years in the business, the Austin restaurant scene was delivered another blow. An employee has confirmed to CultureMap that long-running pizza joint Frank & Angie’s will be shuttering before the end of the year.
Mike and Kim Hutchinson, who also own Hut’s Hamburgers, opened the restaurant in 1995 before the neighboring West Sixth Street strip became a bustling entertainment hub. Although the iconic Katz’s Deli had been operating in the neighborhood since 1979, the casual eatery helped usher in a new age for the district.
Since then, it has remained mostly unchanged, with its cityscape mural and colorful oilcloth table coverings a reminder of an older, more eclectic Austin. Rat Pack standards (the bar is named after Mike’s mother and Frank Sinatra) still play. Despite the Italian boom of the last few years, it remains one of the few places in the Capital City that serves traditional red sauce Italian-American fare like baked ziti and spaghetti and meatballs.
The reason for Frank & Angie's closure is unclear. Although CultureMap was unable to get ahold of the owners before this story was filed, Mike did confirm to several other outlets that Hut’s will remain open and that a full statement would be forthcoming in a few weeks.
Since the news first broke, there has been rampant speculation about what would become of the property. Some clues may be provided from now-archived meeting notes from a November 2017 Austin Utility Location Coordination Committee meeting.
Included in the documents were plans for a potential 28-story mixed-use building at 506-508 West Avenue called 506 West. The address range covers both Frank & Angie’s and neighboring Irene’s. CultureMap has been unable to independently verify if the project is in the works and a rep from Irene's declined to comment.
Whatever the ultimate fate of the land, there’s still some time to grab a slice from a true Austin original. Although the closing date has not been established, the Frank & Angie’s employee did assure that it is months away.
