People We Meet: Frankie Gaetano Balistreri, owner of Portofino’s in North Beach

Frankie is short and barrel-chested, with powerful forearms and a charming, lopsided grin. He talks fast, his deep brown eyes glint with humor, and he often cracks himself up. Under his big apron, his T-shirt reads: When You See Frankie, Call the Cops. The 64-year-old proprietor (with his wife, Evelyn) of the popular Portofino’s Restaurant on Grant Avenue is beloved in his North Beach community where everyone assumes he was born. But he was born in Rosarito Beach, Tijuana, Mexico, where his Sicilian father fled after getting in trouble over contraband at the port of Palermo. Frankie’s mother found his father 13 years later on the streets in Mexico City, he said. “She forgave a lot!” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:38

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