I first recognized Fran's when I was staying at a Day's Inn on College and Fran's was a block away and was open 24 hours. This new one, on Front, isn't open 24/7 but it is a new addition to the downtown dining scene that isn't yet another Irish pub.
I tried a late-night breakfast platter of eggs and peameal bacon. They let me switch the home fries to french fries and I was happy with that. However, the fries reeked of frozen and definitely didn't have much taste going for them. Actually most of the platter didn't. It was all so-so and I might have done better at Golden Griddle.
The saving grace of the restaurant is the beer selection. Surprisingly alongside the usual Molson crap, was a tap of Hop City Barking Squirrel which was kind of like a Newcastle and one of my personal favs, Mill St. Belgian Wit. That really surprised me since most bars in town, if they offer Mill St. at all, offer the Tankhouse Ale and while that is good, the Belgian Wit is exceptional. That's what brought me in. The food was secondary.
Service is hit or miss and the WiFi actually bleeds in from Biff's next door. Thankfully, there's no password since I was working on website projects while dining and drinking there.
Overall, not a great place to dine. Better to drink. And maybe that's the point. The food is so weak that you need strong beer to balance it all out!