Wait is over for Bluffton fans of Frankie Bones. Here’s a peek inside the new location
Frankie Bones is finally open in Bluffton!
No one seems more ready than Executive Chef and Partner Luke Lyons, whose team served around 200 customers Tuesday night after a post on Facebook announced the restaurant would open for dinner.
“I’ve got a 4-minute commute, not a 45-minute one anymore,” said the Bluffton resident. The new location is at 26 Discovery Drive off Buckwalter Parkway in a free-standing building near Kroger.
This week Frankie Bones is serving dinner nightly, starting with early dining at 4 p.m. Lunch service will be added starting at 11 am. Monday, Feb. 17, with a brunch buffet added to lunch service on Sunday, Feb. 23.
Sunday, March 1, is the day things really kick into high gear: “Full hours, full menu,” Lyons said.
Managing Partner Doug Runyan said he hopes customers who enjoy Frankie Bones’ Hilton Head location will feel right at home in the new place.
“Delicious food everybody knows and loves without the commute over the bridge, plus a little bit more spacious, modern restaurant,” Runyan said.
The Italian American menus for the two restaurants, both affiliated with the SERG Restaurant Group, will be identical.
Right now, an improved flatbread crust — an actual pizza dough — at the Bluffton location is the only difference, but the Hilton Head location will be transitioning to that change soon, Lyons said.
The interior color scheme has shifted from brown and burgundy on Hilton Head to gray and blue in Bluffton. The familiar neon blue Frankie Bones logo from the Hilton Head location has changed to a stand-out pinkish-red in Bluffton.
The two restaurants cover about the same footprint, but Lyons said being able to design the space from the ground up means the Bluffton restaurant not only feels larger and more open but also has a larger kitchen.
“We actually have a prep line so we can do large parties and catering,” he said. “People can book any party they want, from buffets, private dinners, plated, wine dinners.”
The private “Board Room” in the new location can hold about 80 people, and Lyons envisions it being a great place for a wedding party. “You can put a dance floor in here. The bride and groom can come in the side door for their entry ... a little DJ stand in the corner.”
For those who want to bring the Frankie Bones experience home, the restaurant is offering “grab and go” options like meatballs or chicken pot pie from a cooler in the reception area.
“We have a couple options now,” Lyons said. “We’ll have a lot more moving forward in a couple weeks.”
The grab-and-go menu eventually will be posted on the restaurant’s website with the regular menus.
Not sure what to order? Lyons said the spaghetti squash primavera is his current favorite.
“But that new pizza is really good.”
If you go
What: Frankie Bones
Where: 26 Discovery Drive in Bluffton, near the Buckwalter Parkway Kroger
Call: 843-757-3423
Website: frankiebones.com
This story was originally published February 13, 2020 at 4:30 AM.
