Born in Miligala, Messinia, Greece, Peter Frangos came to this country in 1907, settling in Lowell, Massechusetts. He began his restaurant experience in Omaha and moved to Iowa in 1912. Peter married Helen Manos in 1916 and the two operated restaurants in Council Bluffs, Eagle Grove and Fort Dodge before coming to Ames in 1934. Peter was a member of the National Restaurant Association and a director of the Iowa Restaurant Association. For several years in the 1950s he was the Story County chairman of the Coffe Day for Cripple Children. Peter was also a member of the Masonic Lodge, Za-Ga-Zig Shrine, Ahepa, the Moose Lodge, Ames Chamber of Commerce and Ames Industrial Development, Inc. The Frangos family belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church in Des Moines where Peter served on the board of trustees.
Peter and Helen had five children, Christ, Steve, Angelo, Mary and Pauline. All the children helped in the family business. All three sons served in the Army, and Christ was killed at Leyte in the Philippines in 1944.
Frangos Restaurant was established in 1941 at 210 Main Street by Peter H. Frangos who bought out his partner at the Dairy Lunch and renamed it Frangos Restaurant. As an immigrant from his native Greece, Mr. Frangos had acquired restaurant experience in Omaha before operating restaurants in Council Bluffs, Eagle Grove, and Fort Dodge.