The exact page text, read by your browser's voice.
1968 — present · 1621 West Washington Street
The house, at the strength of its telling: Frankie's BBQ stands at 1621 West Washington Street, and its documented core is its menu and its longevity: rib tips, ribs, brisket, pulled pork, fried catfish, and Southern sides, served from a house its own description calls "one of South Bend's oldest establishments." Its founding is carried by a 2026 feature at attributed strength: opened in 1968; founded by James Charles Trotter Sr. and Frankie Fellows; run now by their son, Sean Pierre Trotter. The same feature calls it one of the oldest Black-owned businesses still operating in South Bend — a claim printed here as that feature's claim, not independently verified against any roster of the city's Black-owned firms, and tested as such in the claims entry. What is not printed at all: the forum memories of an earlier Eddy Street location, of other branches, and of a predecessor house remembered as "Gene's." Memory of that kind is where this section's standard stops; the memories are named in this section's note as an open lead, and nothing in this entry rests on them.
Sources:
- My Family Travels feature on Frankie's BBQ (29 August 2026) — the 1968 opening; James Charles Trotter Sr. and Frankie Fellows; Sean Pierre Trotter; the menu core; the "oldest Black-owned businesses" characterization, as that feature states it.
- Frankie's BBQ, house copy — 1621 West Washington Street; "one of South Bend's oldest establishments."