Frank n Frank's Serves Focaccia Sandwiches in Chinatown Central Plaza Until 1:30 AM on Fridays and Saturdays
Amboy alum Brian Ayala and former Howlin' Ray's chef Mario Aguilar opened the walk-up window in the old Burgerlords space on June 10, named it for Ayala's late brother, and built a five-sandwich menu on sesame focaccia from Ceor Bakery, served Wednesday through Sunday with a 1:30 AM close on weekend nights.
Chinatown Central Plaza has a sandwich window again. Frank n Frank's took the former Burgerlords space at 943 N Broadway, opened on June 10, and now runs five focaccia sandwiches, a double hot dog and one shareable salad out of an order window with patio seating and no dining room. On Fridays and Saturdays it stays open until 1:30 AM, which makes it one of the only kitchens still working in the plaza after midnight.
The name belongs to Brian Ayala's brother, Frank Ayala, who died in 2024. Ayala, who came up at Amboy, stepped away from restaurant and production work afterward and spent three months traveling. The menu he came back with borrows from those stops and the people he met on them. His partner, chef Mario Aguilar, spent years at Howlin' Ray's before leaving in 2025 to consult. The two met in 2020 and went into business together this year.
The five sandwiches
SECTION 01Everything is built on sesame focaccia from Ceor Bakery, and every order comes with chips.
The Spicy Italian layers spicy salami with 'nduja stracciatella, olive oil, arugula, shaved Parmesan, pepper and Maldon salt. The Chrissy stacks Burbank pastrami from RC Provisions with caramelized onions, American cheese, aioli and brown mustard. The Nostalgia is a club rebuilt with turkey, candied bacon, American cheese, romaine, tomato and thinly sliced red onion. The GodFrank is the mortadella one. The fifth is a crunchy peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich with candied Nueske's bacon, pressed hot on the plancha.
Off the sandwich board there is a double hot dog, two beef sausages in a potato roll under caramelized onions and French's brown mustard, plus the Dima salad, arugula with burrata, roasted tomatoes, balsamic glaze and focaccia croutons, sized to share.
If you want a shortcut, The Infatuation picks the GodFrank and the Chrissy. The full menu and ordering live at https://www.franknfranks.com.
The plaza it opened into
SECTION 02Frank n Frank's sits inside Chinatown Central Plaza, alongside the 80-year-old Grand Star Jazz Club, Wonder Bakery, Blossom Vietnamese and General Lee's. Brooklyn's astrology-themed cocktail lounge Mood Ring is expected across the alley sometime in 2026, in the former Stay Zero Proof space.
Foot traffic in Chinatown has been thin since the pandemic, with closures and gentrification pressure working against the businesses that stayed. Ayala has been direct that the window is meant to pull people back into the plaza, not just feed them.
Orders go through a window, but a staff member works the patio to greet people, which Ayala told Eater LA is deliberate. "Customer service is the biggest factor in why a restaurant succeeds," he said. "Being behind a window, you don't feel that service. To be the best, you have to present as the best."
“Our goal isn't just the restaurant. I want to give people a space to come as we grow and enjoy Chinatown again. I think we can get back to that.”
— BRIAN AYALA, CO-OWNER, TO EATER LA
The 1:30 AM close is the whole move. Chinatown empties out early, so a window still building pastrami sandwiches after midnight on a Friday is genuinely rare on this side of the river. Go late, after a set at Grand Star or a drink at General Lee's. It is patio seating only, so bring a layer, and note it is closed Monday and Tuesday.
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