AN AMERICAN TRADITION
Since 1926
AN AMERICAN TRADITION
Since 1926
In 1926, there was some real excitement in Downtown Kenosha when six horses pulled Franks’ Diner to the spot where it stands today. The structure was built by the Jerry O’Mahony company in New Jersey, and shipped to Kenosha on a railroad flatcar. Anthony Franks, who first learned of the unique restaurant opportunity through a magazine article, paid $7,500 plus $315 in shipping charges to launch his business. He added a dining room in 1935 and a larger kitchen in the mid 1940s. The Franks family operated the diner until 2001 when it was purchased by Chris Schwartz, Lynn Groleau and Kris Derwae from Don Franks and John Gilmores. Chris and Lynn sold the diner to Julie Rittmiller and Kevin Ervin in 2010.
Throughout the decades, Franks Diner has hosted many celebrities, including The Three Stooges, Lawrence Welk, Bela Lugosi, Duke Ellington and Liberace. Recent superstar sightings include actor Mark Ruffalo, Chicago news anchor Ron Magers, weather maven Tom Skilling, and news anchor Sean Lewis, both WGN TV; iconic pop band Badfinger, members of The Buckinghams, Jay and the Young Americans, New York news anchor Lonnie Quinn, Dean Reynolds of CBS Nightly News, author Michael Schumacher, various Green Bay Packers, Lovie Smith, and a rude member of the Monkees (whose last name rhymes with “dork”).
Throughout the decades, Franks Diner has hosted many celebrities, including The Three Stooges, Lawrence Welk, Bela Lugosi, Duke Ellington and Liberace. Recent superstar sightings include actor Mark Ruffalo, Chicago news anchor Ron Magers, weather maven Tom Skilling, and news anchor Sean Lewis, both WGN TV; iconic pop band Badfinger, members of The Buckinghams, Jay and the Young Americans, New York news anchor Lonnie Quinn, Dean Reynolds of CBS Nightly News, author Michael Schumacher, various Green Bay Packers, Lovie Smith, and a rude member of the Monkees (whose last name rhymes with “dork”).
WE’VE MADE THEList
Franks Diner has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and On The Road. As well as the United States of Bacon, the NFL Network, CBS Nightly News and WGN TV; on WNPR, WBEZ and WTMJ Radio, and in numerous travel and historical publications.
WE’VE MADE THEList
Franks Diner has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and On The Road. As well as the United States of Bacon, the NFL Network, CBS Nightly News and WGN TV; on WNPR, WBEZ and WTMJ Radio, and in numerous travel and historical publications.
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