Frankies

I’m a native Toledoan who escaped the Rust Belt to the booming economy of the Bay, and this is one of the places I miss most in Toledo. I visited Toledo last year and was so happy to see this place is still open! It has beaten the odds in the slums of East Toledo, and it’s the kind of gritty live music venue we are sorely lacking in San Francisco and Oakland. Toledo has so much potential, and Main Street in East Toledo would be a prime spot for a nightlife district geared toward millennials and Gen Z. There are great urban bones and Frankies is a classic blue collar Toledo spot that reminds me of my roots. When I walked by here, there was a line of teens and 20-​somethings waiting to rock out! It’s so good to see this spot is still open as it holds a special spot in the hearts of many native Toledoans!

This place is a total dirtball shack. Needs Mr. Clean to come and hose everything off with some soap and cleaning supplies. It’s nasty in there… much like the freaks and weirdos who drink there… bleh.
Used to play there with a band and was also cheap skated on the pay. Promised one thing, payed another. Skip at all costs.

Came here to see Crown The Empire.
The staff was actually the best part of the place.
The security and staff were always on point to make sure everyone was safe and they were pretty friendly coming in.
The show was great but my biggest complaints I have are 3 things :
1.) The place is really in dire need of some cleaning. It’s so dirty it’s not even funny. Also, the entire time it was SO hot in there. Investing in AC would be nice.
2.) The sound quality wasn’t that great for the bands and the stage is super puny I couldn’t believe the bands were actually performing on it.
3.) They don’t really help with accommodating people on where to park. If you park somewhere wrong, they tell you you’ll get towed and that’s it. Maybe invest in a private parking lot or at least tell people where they can go.

We went to see Lights here, and despite her best efforts the venue made it a pretty bad concert. The stage is so tiny she couldn’t fit her synthesizer on the stage so half of her songs she couldn’t play. The place was packed, and people insisted on pushing past to go outside and smoke and go to the bathroom throughout the entire show. If you do go here, make sure you’re early, as standing in the back really, really sucks. The drinks were cheap, but very weak. Really, there’s nothing much I can say good about this place.

i love this rugged, dirty, grungy hole in the wall. arent those always the best places to have fun?
cheap drinks, eccentric ppl, and great music… lots of history between these walls.
i mos def recommend this dirty, dirty lil joint :P

I sometimes fancy myself a chameleon; moving in and out of varying social groups with aplomb, mixing and mingling with politicians as comfortably as with punk rockers. Frankie’s is exactly the sort of place I get to practice such skills. With the upstairs usually reserved for hard-​rock bands and the downstairs housing perhaps the entirety of the Toledo goth scene, there is never a shortage of diversity and personality in the clientele of this classic east-​side music venue and bar.
There is a ton of music history here, too. Frankie’s, a pretty damn small and grimy bar, has given their stage to such acts as The White Stripes, The Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, Blind Melon, and many others I can’t think of right now. Local and Regional bands play here almost every night, and this bar truly is a staple in the Toledo music scene.
As far as the bar’s décor goes, it’s pretty standard punk-​rock club fare. Wobbly tables, graffiti-​strewn bathrooms, and dim, dim lighting to conceal the charming mess. The major complaint I have is regarding the downstairs women’s bathroom. Literally, there are about two inches between the door and the toilet seat. Hence, if you’re going potty, your knees are sticking out under the door. It’s pretty damn awkward, especially after consuming a couple of adult beverages. If you’re going to Frankie’s though, you’re not going for the décor, so this isn’t a deal-​breaker.
All in all, Frankie’s is a classic. Go for the music, stay for the $ 1 PBR’s.