Pizza Mia to Open Frankfort Location in March

As a Frankfort resident, Dave Dombrowski, founder of the Pizza Mia restaurant franchise, always wanted a location in the village he calls home.

By the end of next month, he'll have his wish with the opening of a new store at 19860 S. Harlem Ave.

"It’s nice to have one in my backyard," Dombrowski said. "Before (opening a restaurant in) New Lenox, I’d been kinda looking to have one in Frankfort, but I never found a location that worked."

That changed late last year when franchise owner Bob Chavez, of Lockport, signed a lease on the Harlem Avenue storefront. Since then, Chavez and Dombrowski have been preparing the place, which will join two other Pizza Mia locations in Homer Glen and New Lenox. 

Founded in 1991 with a store in Oak Forest (which is no longer open), Pizza Mia is a small chain of take-out and delivery storefronts that specializes in pizzas, sandwiches, chicken and pasta dinners. 

The Frankfort eatery is scheduled to open the week of March 21, Dombrowski said, adding that the shop is currently finalizing the delivery of some additional equipment and will begin hiring 10 to 12 part-time empoyees soon.

A grand opening--complete with local celebrities--will be 30 to 45 days after the late March "soft open," he said. Domborwski added that he won't reveal who the celebrities are until the event gets closer.

Geographically, the Frankfort location, which will serve the village as well as parts of Mokena, Tinley Park and Matteson, is ideal for building on the foundations of business Pizza Mia already has in the area, Dombrowski said. The store will be close to multiple communities but won't be lost among the strip malls on LaGrange Road.

And then there's its proximity to and high schools. 

"We have a great relationship with the Lincoln-Way schools," Dombrowski said. "We do a good business with East already."

What can custmoers expect once doors open in March? If they've been to Pizza Mia's other locations, the Harlem Avenue shop won't be a shock to their systems.

"The Frankfort store will just be identical ... looks, menu, the whole shot," Dombrowski said. "Right down to the color of the walls."