Francesca's Restaurant on Erwin Rd. to close today ahead of apartments' arrival

We've talked here before about the $75 million mixed-use development with nearly 400 apartment units slated for Erwin Rd. between the gargantuan Hock Plaza and Pavilion at Lakeview. Back in the winter, we talked about the displacement of long-time restaurant tenants Subway and Francesca's -- the quick-service Italian eatery not the gelato-and-coffee shop on Ninth -- as an eventual outcome of the redevelopment.

What was once abstract is now concrete, at least for Francesca's -- an establishment that, based on the volume of email traffic we've received here at BCR in the last few days, has a tremendously loyal following among Dukies and hospital staff. Francesca's is set to close this Friday, June 13.

As one long-time customer who wrote in to BCR noted:

This will be a great loss for the Duke campus and community, as so many of the regulars are from Duke. Some are employees and others are patients or visitors to the hospital.  It has become a meeting and gathering place with a homey atmosphere....

Everyone may not know your name (like on Cheers) but Frank (Frankie to most of his customers) knows your name and usually knows what you're going to order and is always willing to prepare special dishes for dietary or any other reason.  There are a few dishes I get all the time and he seems to know which dish I'll order on a given day.

Frankie -- that's Frank Casabianca, to be specific -- confirmed on Thursday that the establishment will close this Thursday, a few weeks before the deadline imposed under the new short-term lease afforded the business as the redevelopment crept forward.

Casabianca noted that this doesn't mark the end of the line for Francesca's, but it may mark the end of its North Carolina presence. The longtime Erwin Rd. fixture is part of a set of such businesses located largely in New Jersey, and the proprietor notes it's likely he and the establishment will relocate back to the Garden State.

If you're a fan of Francesca's, stop in on Friday to wish them adieu before the long trip back up I-95. There may be plenty of new "chain" places on Erwin to frequent, but for many, the most frequent destination of all looks to be closing shop for good.

Comments

[Toastie]

Google Map streetview of Francesa's, Subway, Stop-n-Go:
http://tinyurl.com/58po8e

Maybe a Pizza Hut will come to the next Erwin Rd mega-mixed-use complex! I'm nostalgic for the Pizza Hut that used to be here (Erwin and Lasalle, a block down the road):
http://tinyurl.com/5eqgsr
...not for the food; just that it looked like it was built on stilts...although there's nowhere around here to get a Pizza Lover's Pizza... http://www.theonion.com/content/from_print/pizza_huts_new_pizza_lovers

[barry]

i only ate there a few times, but i enjoyed it.

another locally owned, reasonably priced dining option bites the dust.

[Michael Bacon]

Francesca's was decent food, although I can't bring myself to mourn it (it was probably the closest non-Duke operated restaurant when I was working at Duke, but I still didn't go there all that much.) But calling it "locally owned" is like calling the local McDonald's franchise "locally owned." As Kevin points out, it was part of a small franchise operation out of New Jersey.

With the explosion in restaurant development in that area, including some chains but also a number of local joints (Nosh, Shade Tree, Chai's, and Six Plates), the overall trend is up. And of the three places for lunch that used to stand on that corner, Stop 'n' Go is still there, if you really want some local color, old school style.

[hurley]

Hopefully the new development will have places to eat. The new lab building Duke is putting up at Erwin and Research will add another 300-500 to the lunch crowd in the area.

Before it was Francexca's the building was a Lil Dino's sub shop, before that it was the Duke Credit Union, and before that (and originally) it was a bank branch.

[Dan R]

Francesca's was horrible-egg noodles slopped with Ragu. I thought the corner of Erwin and Research was going to be a parking deck.

[chris]

Michael - I feel very nostalgic towards the Stop 'N Go. It's where we all used to buy beer with horrible fake ID's in high school. An important service to the community, if you ask me. :)

[Dawn M.]

Francesca's will be missed for more than the delicious food....yes we'll miss the chicken parmesan and the special angel hair pasta with garlic and olive oli topped with grilled chicken (a Frankie special) and the spaghetti with meatballs or marinara sauce and the tomato basil pizza and the hot sub sandwiches and the veal parm and the salads and breadsticks and did I mention the chicken tenders and fries with seasoning that made your mouth water. We'll miss the friendly staff and the great service. We'll miss the view of Erwin Rd. from our favorite booth and watching college hoops and the latest news. We'll miss running in to friends and we'll miss you Frankie, and your family and staff, and hope to see you back in Durham someday!

[hurley]

The Stop 'n Go reached its' peak about 15 years ago when for a couple years it was a combination convenience store-gun shop. The good old boy who was lax about IDs retired and it was taken over by an engineer from the GE jet engine facility in RTP who figured he'd make more money as an entrepreneur. He added a gun shop after about 6 months. I don't know if he made a lot of money but it didn't last very long. The rumor was that Duke pressured the landlord to modify the lease because they didn't want a gun store a hundred feet from their property.

It was then taken over by some Chinese guys who didn't speak a word of English. They've had a clerk arrested for selling drugs over the counter, and after 5 PM and on the weekends it's a center for Durhamites addicted to fortified wine. I guess they found a way to make money out of the place. Good riddance, you assholes.

[Toastie]

Li'l Dinos was great. They also used to occupy part of the old East Campus food court (before it was the all-freshman "Marketplace").