December brought news of exciting restaurant openings and reopenings

December brought a flurry of restaurant activity to Erie-town, as a couple of owners struggled to open in time to catch holiday revelers and shoppers.

A new Tropical Smoothie Cafe opened on West 12th Street, and a brand-new, locally owned and long-awaited Italian restaurant, Falcone's, welcomed guests into the Copperleaf development off Edinboro Road. Media darling Bro Man's revealed a new Millcreek location expected to open early in January.

Some restaurateurs are dreaming of summer days ― at a unique bar/dog park, Hair of the Dawg in Lake City, or putting around at the newly renamed Zim's Summer Spot (formerly Castle Ice Cream and minigolf) on West Lake Road.

All this and more awaits restaurant lovers as January approaches, kind of secretly, hidden behind the year's biggest holidays, which are also obscuring the now-annual Erie Restaurant Week, Jan. 22-31, organized by Visit Erie. Mark your dance cards and know that even in the depths of an Erie winter, the kitchen fires are burning and your table is waiting.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe's new Erie spot open

Tropical Smoothie Cafe, 6803 Peach St., is gaining a sister after not quite a year since it opened. A second location, a franchise with the same owner, opened Dec. 12 at 2301 W. 12th St.

Owner Darshan Patel said the 1,400-square-foot cafe is located at the former Doug Yaple Vacuum Center in the Schaal Plaza on 12th and Pittsburgh Avenue. The menu includes wraps and sandwiches as well as customizable smoothies and breakfast bowls.

"We are training now," Patel said. "The grand opening will be in January, but we'll be open (Dec. 12.)"

Franco's Cafe to reopen at 416 State St. soon

Downtown lunch mavens have been missing their go-to lunch spot since Franco's Cafe closed in June to make way for a $50 million renovation of the Renaissance Centre.

"It's the only place that has a salad bar," said Larry Franco Sr., who ran the cafe for 15 years tucked behind Isaac Baker Menswear, which moved to Village West. Franco's featured a popular salad bar, as well as homemade soups and sandwiches.

Those lunch mavens, many from businesses further north on State Street, he said, will be happy to know that Franco's is opening again, this time at 416 State St., across the street from Serafini's Trattoria. And it's only a matter of weeks until the new digs will be ready.

Lake City restaurant to be turned into informal bar with a dog park

Lakeland's Pub, at 9690 West Lake Road in Lake City, is going to the dogs.

Seriously. The new owners, John and Leanne Byers, Ben Desanti and Madison Heeter, purchased the property — closing was Dec. 3 — and they can't wait to open an adjacent 4,000-square-foot, off-leash dog park. They already have a name for the place: Hair of the Dawg.

They hope to open the restaurant and bar (no dogs allowed inside) in February, serving beer and what John Byers calls "bougie bar food." The dog park will follow in spring when they'll open the patio, where leashed dogs will be welcome.

Bro Man's to close Summit location, moving to Millcreek

Stephen Stanbro owns Bro Man's Sammiches, 2614 Glenwood Park Ave., and is moving his satellite location from Peach Street in Summit Township to West 26th Street in Millcreek.

Less than four years ago, Stephen Stanbro was slinging his birria and burgers out of the side of a truck.

Now he's running a brisk business of Bro Man’s Sammiches in the old George's at 2614 Glenwood Park Ave., and has grown out of his Summit Township satellite location. He'll be moving that staff and work to 3558 W. 26th St. (the old Rex Brothers) where he has a bigger kitchen. He hopes to open in early January.

"We're incredibly grateful for the support we've received at the Summit location," Stanbro said. "Sharing that space (with Gulf on 8228 Peach St.) has been a valuable experience, but we realized that to continue growing and offering the full Bro Man's experience, we needed a space of our own."

New Italian restaurant Falcone's has roots in culture, food of Italy

Chef John Panarello is the creative engine driving the menu at Falcone's, a new Italian Restaurant in Summit Township.

Falcone's, at 2901 Copperleaf Drive in Summit Township, is open for dinner now, and will host its grand opening in January in the development off of Edinboro Road, about five minutes south of Interchange Road. It will be open for dinner starting "soon," including New Year's Eve, said Michael Keller, general manager of Falcone's.

When guests sit down, they should be prepared to struggle with decisions. Brick-oven pizza made with the best mozzarella the team could find in the U.S., is available anytime. But dinner offerings include the requisite spaghetti and meatballs made with Keller's great-grandparents' (Dominic and Donna Falcone's) recipes. That's closely followed by the seafaring Cioppino featuring seven kinds of fish, a savory Vegetable Risotto served in basil cream in porcini mushroom broth and the surprisingly light tagliatelle al la Bolognese.

Castle Ice Cream, Mini Golf gets new owner who plans to expand

Erie's ice cream game is strong, and Castle Ice Cream and Mini-Golf, 7354 West Lake Road in Fairview, is a major westside hub for the summer treat.

Owner Lloyd Fohner opened it in 2004, but this year he decided at 75, that he'd rather do something else, and sold the property to an excited new owner in Dave Zimmer, 63, and his wife, Linda Zimmer for $425,000.

"I am the retired president of ErieBank and decided I couldn’t sit still in retirement, so we found this wonderful place to keep me busy," Dave Zimmer said.

A self-described big fan of ice cream, he said he also plays a lot of golf, so the combination intrigued him.