On a quiet stretch of Floss Street in Hurlstone Park, two best mates are keeping the pizza ovens burning – not just for dinner service, but for the sake of legacy.
For William Kay, 33, and Georgio Panousos, 30, co-owners of Frankly Nick’s, opening a neighbourhood pizzeria wasn’t just about food. It was about returning to their roots – to the kitchens where they once worked as teenage dishies for their fathers, Frank and Nick.
“We had been looking for a while at different concepts for a business until my father Frank Kay said in passing, ‘why don’t you do what me and your father did and do a pizza shop,’” William tells The Greek Herald.
“The more we started thinking about it, the more it made sense. We had both started in pizza working for the dads when we were in our teens and thought to ourselves that a throwback to how it began with their relationship would be the perfect homage.”
That idea became Frankly Nick’s – a name that nods to their fathers’ lifelong friendship and the family legacy that shaped them.
A home between Belmore and Stanmore
The choice of location wasn’t a coincidence.
“As for Hurlstone Park, it was simple,” William explains. “Frank grew up in Belmore and Nick grew up in Stanmore. We met in the middle. Both Georgio and my own family either lives or grew up a stone’s throw away from the area and it just made sense.”
Hurlstone Park, once a quiet residential pocket, hadn’t had a dinner venue in decades. Within a week of opening, Frankly Nick’s sold over 900 pizzas – a clear sign that the community was ready for its comeback story.
The lessons of Frank and Nick
The new generation might be running the show, but the philosophy remains unchanged.
“If the product’s right, with the right service and the right price people will always come for a great meal,” William says.
“Hospitality starts in the home, treat the customers as if you were entertaining the family and be open to the criticisms of the crazy aunties and uncles.”
These old-school values underpin everything at Frankly Nick’s – from their 48-hour cold-fermented dough to the generous, convivial atmosphere that greets guests as soon as they step through the door.
A friendship forged in pizza dough
William and Georgio’s friendship began in their fathers’ restaurants, scrubbing dishes and stretching dough. Years later, that bond still defines how they work together.
“Georgio has always been prevalent in the front of house in previous ventures, whilst I’ve been more in the mechanics of the kitchen and menu design,” William says.
“Through the years we can always lean on each other when either is struggling in our sections of the business. Having ourselves manage separate parts of the business allows us to excel in our own ways but neither one of us has the final say until both of us are satisfied with a decision.
“This stops us from having tunnel vision whether it comes to new flavours and menu ideas, or staff training and implementing new systems.”
Their dads also passed down a key rule: don’t let conflict linger.
“Our dads taught us to never go to sleep angry,” Georgio adds. “We’ve been working together for over a decade and we never say things on the fly. If something bothers us we sit down, listen to each other and know whenever we have those chats it’s not to hate the other person but to build each other up.”
Flavours that speak the language of home
Greek heritage runs through Frankly Nick’s like oregano through a village kitchen.
“It’s in everything we do from the sauce to the salads,” Georgio says.
“The menu items have all been built up from flavours that have been taught to us through not just our fathers but our mothers, aunties and yiayias.
“Delicious is delicious and that is a language with no barriers. Whether it’s using aniseed in the pickled onions or an excessive amount of yiayia’s oregano in the sauce or even baking the pastas like a pastitsio, the Greek influence is heavy but the flavours speak volumes.”
William sums up their cooking mantra simply: “Deduct and perfect. It’s easy to hide behind multiple layers in a dish, but it’s much harder to make simple perfect. If you do the small things right and let the ingredients shine the dish will speak for itself. An example is a horiatiki salata – it’s only feta, tomatoes, cucumber, olive and oil. Something so simple but you know when you’re getting a good one and getting a bad one.”
Old soul, new look
While the menu draws on the past, the space itself feels timeless – a warm mix of vintage tones and modern design.
“Honestly all credits go to my sister Eleni Kay, also the owner of Angie Baby Kitchen Catering,” William says.
“Georgio and I had a vision but didn’t have a way to consolidate our ideas. Eleni, with her background in food marketing and styling, was able to focus our vision of a modern 1960’s pizza/cocktail bar and help us make the correct choices in terms of colour palette and material schedules to bring the warm feeling to our venue.”
Rooted in community
In a suburb long defined by small businesses and neighbourly ties, Frankly Nick’s fits right in.
“We are highlighting the other businesses around us by including and incorporating the products of our neighbours in our menu,” Georgio explains.
“All of our veggies are bought from Friendly Grocer, our local supermarket. Our meat is purchased from Carnes Latinas, the local butcher. We offer BYO from the local bottlo. We cross-promote with the local bar HP Bowlo. Our dream is not to just be a staple of this area but to be a place of cult following within the Inner West.”
And in true Greek fashion, everyone’s welcome – no formalities, no fuss. “Come down and don’t ever be afraid to say hello,” Georgio grins.
Frankly Nick’s
- 36 Floss Street, Hurlstone Park
- (02) 9326 4436
- Tue–Sat 5pm–9.30pm | Sun 5pm–9pm
- franklynicks.com.au
