The diversification of 4th Street North’s culinary scene is set to continue with the mid-June opening of Frankie’s Italian Chophouse, an upscale steakhouse created by Frank Schittino, the owner and operator of Café Cibo at 8697 4th Street North, and his business partner, Chad Davis.

Frankie’s Italian Chophouse is located just a couple of blocks north of Café Cibo, at 8901 4th Street North in a 5,400-square foot building most recently occupied by Perico’s Mexican Restaurant. In the mid-2000s, the building was almost home to HipHop Soda Shop, a highly-anticipated restaurant, arcade, and recording studio helmed by former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Warren Sapp and other pro athletes. Their plans never came to fruition and the HipHop Soda Shop never opened.

As for Frankie’s Italian Chophouse, Schittino said the concept has been a long time coming.

“I've had in mind to open a steakhouse on 4th Street for 15 years,” he told St. Pete Rising, “because there's nothing up here. When you think about 4th Street and you think about food, you can have Indian food. You can have Chinese food. You can have sushi, Mexican, burgers, pizza, pastas. But you can't get a steak unless you go downtown.”

Schittino hails from Baltimore, Maryland, and opened several restaurants there, primarily pizzerias, before moving to St. Petersburg more than two decades ago. Davis, a St. Pete resident, was a regular at Café Cibo and was introduced to Schittino through mutual friends. Schittino, a trained chef, said Davis is a wine connoisseur who travels frequently to wine hotspots such as Napa Valley and Sonoma, California, and Davis’s vino expertise will complement Schittino’s culinary knowledge.

“He’s the wine chef; I’m the food chef,” Schittino said.

Frankie’s Italian Chophouse, Schittino added, will offer diners not only premium steaks but also higher-end Italian dishes that weren’t a fit for the price points of Café Cibo’s menu.

“I figure the price point is probably going to be between $50 and $75 per person, depending on what you’re drinking,” he said. “We are going to serve wagyu steak, and wagyu steak, as you know, is not cheap.”

Frankie’s Italian Chophouse will also have a full bar offering craft cocktails, as well as a well-stocked wine cellar. Schittino envisions the restaurant as a place couples will come to have a fun night out, and he plans to feature live music five nights per week.

“You can go and have a wonderful dinner, hang out and enjoy live music,” he said, adding that the restaurant will be open seven days a week. Doors will open at 4 p.m., and reservations are highly recommended. The restaurant will be able to seat 130 people in the dining room, plus 50 at the bar. It won’t have outdoor seating but there is space on the property to develop some in the future,” Schittino said. “It would be a long patio, as long as the whole building,” he explained, comparing it to the outdoor seating setup at the recently opened Rumba Island Bar & Grill at 6445 4th Street North.

Schittino has hired about 15 people, so far, to staff the restaurant, including General Manager Mike Sorensen, but he would like to bring onboard at least 15-20 additional employees. One of his other key hires is Head Chef Erik Vigil, who has worked at several prominent restaurants in Tampa and New York City.

“He is very qualified, in my opinion,” Schittino said. “I think he’s going to do really well with us. He's a team player, not one of those chefs where everything has to be his way or the highway. I've made the menu. He's gone on to perfect it. And he’s got that young energy. I’m 60 years old — he’s half my age, like the son I never had.”

For more updates, follow Frankie’s Italian Chophouse on Instagram at @frankieschophouse.