{"id":363858,"date":"2026-06-17T05:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T05:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/363858\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T05:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T05:25:14","slug":"chinatowns-new-sandwich-shop-slings-focaccia-sandwiches-until-late-in-the-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/363858\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinatown\u2019s New Sandwich Shop Slings Focaccia Sandwiches Until Late in the Night"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hospitality veterans Brian Ayala (Amboy) and chef Mario Aguilar (Howlin\u2019 Ray\u2019s) just opened Frank & Frank\u2019s<\/a>, a new focaccia sandwich shop, in Chinatown\u2019s Historic Central Plaza. The restaurant debuted in the former Burgerlords space on June 10 with a slim menu of sandwiches, hot dogs, and salads served until late in the night.<\/p>\n

Frank & Frank\u2019s gets its name from Ayala\u2019s brother, Frank Ayala, who died in 2024. After Frank\u2019s death, Ayala took time away from his work in restaurants and production to travel internationally for three months. The sandwiches at Frank & Frank\u2019s take inspiration from his destinations and the people he encountered along the way. Ayala met Aguilar in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, and they quickly became friends. After Aguilar departed from Howlin\u2019 Ray\u2019s in 2025 to work in restaurant consulting, the duo decided to go into business together.<\/p>\n

Their menu goes for simplicity with five sandwiches served on sesame focaccia from Ceor Bakery<\/a>. The Spicy Italian gets layered with spicy salami, \u2018nudja stracciatella, olive oil, arugula, shaved Parmesan, pepper, and Maldon salt, while the Chrissy stacks pastrami from the Burbank-based RC Provisions<\/a> with caramelized onions, American cheese, aioli, and brown mustard. A club sandwich (the Nostalgia) gets revamped with turkey, candied bacon, American cheese, romaine, tomato, and thinly sliced red onions. Frank & Frank\u2019s even has a crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich with candied Nueske\u2019s bacon, served hot from the plancha.<\/p>\n

A double hot dog comes with two beef sausages nestled into a potato roll, then topped with caramelized onions and French\u2019s Brown Mustard. The shareable Dima salad tosses arugula with burrata, roasted tomatoes, olive oil, a balsamic glaze dressing, and focaccia croutons. All dishes on the menu come with chips. Frank & Frank\u2019s officially opens on Friday, July 17, so expect menu tweaks until then.<\/p>\n

Frank & Frank\u2019s only offers outdoor seating, but Ayala and Aguilar plan to add more tables and a television screen to watch local teams and the World Cup<\/a>. Although orders are placed through a window, Frank & Frank\u2019s also stations a staff member outside to greet customers. \u201cCustomer service is the biggest factor in why a restaurant succeeds,\u201d Ayala says. \u201cBeing behind a window, you don\u2019t feel that service. To be the best, you have to present as the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank & Frank\u2019s joins Chinatown Central Plaza\u2019s longstanding businesses like the 80-year-old Grand Star Jazz Club, Wonder Bakery, the 12-year-old Blossom Vietnamese, and General Lee\u2019s cocktail bar. Brooklyn\u2019s astrology-themed cocktail lounge, Mood Ring<\/a>, is expected to open sometime in 2026, directly across the alley from Frank & Frank\u2019s in the former Stay Zero Proof<\/a> space. Since the pandemic, foot traffic in Chinatown has slowed amid ongoing business closures<\/a> and gentrification<\/a>. With Frank & Frank\u2019s, Ayala and Aguilar hope to bring new life to the former Burgerlords space and surrounding plaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal isn\u2019t just the restaurant,\u201d says Ayala. \u201cI want to give people a space to come as we grow and enjoy Chinatown again. I think we can get back to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank & Frank\u2019s is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon until 11 p.m., and until 2:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday at 943 N. Broadway Road, Chinatown, LA, CA 90012.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hospitality veterans Brian Ayala (Amboy) and chef Mario Aguilar (Howlin\u2019 Ray\u2019s) just opened Frank & Frank\u2019s, a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,8472,9146,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-363858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-la-restaurant-news","tag-la-restaurant-openings","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}