“I thought I was going to retire there,” said Lopez, who worked as a chief at the Italian restaurant. “But when Genio's closed, and I bought Frank's, I put the menus together.”
The customers followed. But not enough of them. Frank's was going broke, and when the lease came up in March, Lopez felt he had to close. It was a heart-wrenching decision, he said, especially given that Genio's had been turned into a Social Security office.
“So many people asked me if we were going to open somewhere else,” he said. “We looked, but there was nothing. It was sad. Two landmarks gone and forgotten about.”
But Lopez refused to give up. He entered into talks with the owner of the Portofino Inn — who happened to be Lopez's former landlords — and was able to reopen.
Though he's now the manager of the restaurant — no longer the owner — Lopez doesn't mind. He's just happy to be back.
“This is where people come together,” he said.
Marvin Ceechini, the former owner of Genio's, said the reopening is a good thing.
“I hate to see a place go down,” he said. “Our place went down, but that was another story. So, I think it's great that he's going back there, and I will be going back to support him.”
June resurrections are a bit of a theme among Burbank restaurants. Granada reopened last June, and continues a brisk business selling burritos and stiff margaritas. Frank's proudly, and officially, reopened on Friday.
