Frankie’s Cheesesteaks & Hoagies apparently likes to do things quietly.
Like when they quietly opened their second location in September in Marana’s Gold Canyon Plaza at 3780 W. Ina Road.
It is the restaurant’s second location, coming 16 years after founder and namesake Frank Santos opened the original Frankie’s in 2004 at 2574 N. Campbell Ave. Santos, who died last summer after a long battle with cancer, sold the restaurant several years ago and the new owner early this year announced plans to open the Marana location.
Frankie’s opened more than two months ahead of its neighbor, Lucky Wishbone, which also announced plans early this year to open its first Marana location right next to an outpost of the national fast-casual pizzeria Mod Pizza. The three restaurants, anchoring the plaza on the corner of North Thornydale and Ina roads, took up the space that had been home for 35 years to Peter Piper Pizza, which moved in 2017 across the street to 4731 W. Ina Road.
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Lucky Wishbone opened on Nov. 18.
In other Marana restaurant news:
- At the other end of Ina Road, near Interstate 10, construction is underway on Jack In the Box at 4479 W. Ina Road. The new restaurant will presumably replace the one at 4600 W. Ina. Road that was forced to close almost four years ago as a result of the Ina Road widening project. Dozens of businesses along that stretch including Miss Saigon and Waffle House shuttered in response to the project, which resulted in road restrictions and detours on Ina Road for nearly three years.
No opening date has been announced.
- Dutch Bros. Coffee is building its second Marana location at 4144 W. Ina Road, in between Old Father Inn and Dairy Queen on Ina and North Oldfather roads. In summer 2019, Dutch Bros. opened at 5690 W. Cortaro Farms Road, a couple miles away off Interstate 10.
Dutch Bros. officials said they expect to open the new location in the first quarter of 2021.
- Jerry Bob’s Silverbell at 7850 N. Silverbell Road in Marana’s Continental Ranch community closed its doors for good on Oct. 2. The restaurant, on the corner of Silverbell and North Cortaro roads, never reopened after the state ordered restaurants to close their dining rooms in March. In a Facebook posting, the owners said they were barely making operational ends meet before the pandemic, considering the increases in minimum wage and food expenses. Throw in the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and “we weren’t going to be able to keep our food competitive with the big chains,†the owners said.
The restaurant, owned by Chris and Angie Willis, had been open in the Frys shopping plaza since spring 2010.