OPENING ALERT
Frank's Pollo Asado opens first Universal City location
Frank's Pollos Asados Los Norteños is now open in Universal City.
One of San Antonio’s favorite chicken joints has crossed the road to Universal City. Frank’s Pollo Asado Los Norteños has opened a new restaurant in the San Antonio suburb, taking over the former home of Rapid Fired Pizza at 121 Pat Booker Rd.
Many San Antonians will no doubt be familiar with mini-chain’s achiote-rubbed grilled Northern Mexican chicken, but they might not fully recognize the name. The brand is an offshoot of the nationally recognized Pollos Asados Los Norteños, using the same recipes, branding, and cartoon mascot.
The titular Frank and Mayela Garcia started the latter as a fundraiser for a new church in Nueva Rosita, Coahuila, before branching out to a food truck. The chicken and the addictive green sauce served alongside became so popular that the couple opened a brick-and-mortar nearby at 4642 Rigsby Ave.
After the couple split, Mayela kept the original location, and Frank got a second outpost on Walzem Road, adding his name to the sign. While there are nuances with kitchen expertise, they have near-identical menus down to the Salchi burger with grilled sausage and ham.
The main difference is that the original version carries ramen and a few extra desserts, like chocolate king cake. And while the Rigsby Avenue spot has traditionally been BYOB, Frank’s version has a full bar with beer and margaritas.
Frank announced the new location in February, drawing a chorus of excited comments. A few posters noted that the whole neighborhood would soon smell like pollos asados.
But most of those whiffs of mesquite will be confined to the parking lot. The original’s struggles with excessive smoke, which caused a citywide debate and a temporary closure in 2017, have been corrected with modern ventilation systems, and neither of Frank’s two previous locations has had similar problems.
