Saddleback BBQ buying Detroit Frankie's locations, opening Slice by Saddleback pizza places
LANSING — Local restaurant Saddleback BBQ has big plans this winter including buying Detroit Frankie's two locations and opening a new pizza restaurant, Slice by Saddleback.
“Frankie was looking to retire and he wanted somebody to kind of pass the torch to and carry on the amazing tradition of pizza that he's done for so long here in the Lansing area,” Saddleback BBQ co-owner Travis Stoliker said in a video announcement.
Saddleback BBQ has locations in Lansing's REO Town and Okemos. Co-owned by Stoliker and Matthew Gillett, it specializes in hand-crafted southern barbecue with a “unique Midwestern flair,” according to its website.
After this expansion, it will add Detroit Frankie’s 644 Migaldi Lane location and its former spot at 3135 S. Pennsylvania Ave. in Lansing that it shared with Good Truckin' Food.
The Migaldi Lane location will have a soft opening as Slice by Saddleback on Dec. 28. Saddleback BBQ kept all of Detroit Frankie’s employees and the pizza place has been training employees on how to make the exact same recipes, according to a Facebook post by Detroit Frankie’s owner Frank Tignanelli.
The 3135 S. Pennsylvania Ave. location will also be a Slice by Saddleback location and will probably open in February. The barbecue restaurant owners will add Slice by Saddleback to the Okemos location at 1754 Central Park Drive, which will open later as they have to order a wood-fired oven, Stoliker said in a text message.
The total investment between buying the buildings, equipment, recipes and more was over $250,000, he said.
The co-owners wanted to make this investment because they wanted to diversify their flavors and branch out from solely barbecue.
“How often can you eat barbecue?,” Stoliker asked.
Pizza also has a lower food cost and can help with the restaurants’ profitability, he said.
“And it gives our customers more access to our food. By having more locations in more areas,” Stoliker said.
Tignanelli said he's been looking to retire, but it was important to him that the business didn’t close and his employees were able to keep their jobs.
He said Detroit Frankie's will be open during regular business hours until Dec. 23.
“After that, you'll have the same great pizza, but it will be Slice by Saddleback,” he said.
People can find out more about Slice by Saddleback on its Facebook page and can contact the business at (517) 306-9002.
Contact Bryce Airgood at (517) 267-0448 or bairgood@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Saddleback BBQ is buying Detroit Frankie's, opening pizza restaurant
