Franke's Cafeteria

Franke's Cafeteria is an historic eatery in Little Rock, Arkansas, locally famous for its egg custard pie and eggplant casserole.

Franke's was established at 115 West Capitol Avenue by husband-wife team C. A. Franke and Irene Franke in 1919. Franke's was originally a doughnut shop. The shop became a full-service bakery in 1922 and added cafeteria service in 1924. In 1954 the bakery portion of the business was sold, and Franke's focused solely on its cafeteria operations. The main location for Franke's eventually moved west to 11121 Rodney Parham Road. A downtown Franke's remains in operation in the Regions Bank Building at 400 West Capitol Avenue.

Franke's remains a family business. C. A. and Irene Franke sold the business to W. J. Franke and wife Toni Franke. In 1983 W. J. and Toni sold the business to sons Bill Franke and Chris Franke. In 2006 Bill Franke and his wife Carolyn Franke took over full interest in the cafeteria chain. The Franke's also operate downtown business Sack It. In 2009, Franke's had fifty-seven employees, including sixty-seven year veteran Rufus Whitmore.

References

• Lauren James, "Franke's Cafeteria: A Little Rock Tradition for 90 Years," (advertising feature) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, November 6, 2009.