Lefty's Pizza Kitchen, a Chicago-style pizza chain known for its caramelized crust, will open at 102 Lumber Drive in Franklin. The location marks the brand's first restaurant in Williamson County.
The chain announced the Franklin expansion on its Instagram account on Wednesday, Sept. 16, saying it would bring Chicago-style pizza and Italian street food to the area. The storefront sits inside the Village Place Shopping Center, a space that previously housed Penn Station Subs and Koi Sushi and Thai, Williamson Source reported.
Former commodities trader John Munao founded Lefty's Pizza Kitchen at 1156 Central Ave. in Wilmette, Illinois, in the summer of 2018, according to Patch. Munao developed his recipe after selling his stake in Burt's Place, a suburban Chicago institution run by the late Burt Katz.
Katz is widely credited as the pioneer of caramelized pan-crust pizza, a technique that presses cheese along the pan's edge so it melts and browns against the hot metal during baking, according to Hoodline.
The crispy cheese border is called frico.
Beyond pizza, Lefty's existing menus at other locations list cheesesteaks, hoagies, burgers, wings, chicken sandwiches, loaded fries, chicken tenders, cheesesticks, egg rolls and desserts, according to Williamson Source. The chain also has ordering locations in Texas, though Hoodline did not specify whether those are full brick-and-mortar restaurants. A full menu for the Franklin location has not been released.
The Franklin opening adds to other specialty pizza arrivals in the area. Nashville-born Slim + Husky's opened at The Factory at Franklin in September 2025, and California-based Slice House by Tony Gemignani launched its first Tennessee restaurant at 98 E. Main St. in downtown Franklin in April 2025, Hoodline reported.
No opening date or operating hours have been announced. More details are expected as the opening approaches, according to Hoodline.
