Sunday will be the last day of business for the Old Canteen on Atwells Avenue. The new owners hope to reopen in March with two very different establishments. Joe Marzilli opened the iconic restaurant in 1956; his son Sal has been running it for the past twenty years. Frankly, I will miss the sign more than the restaurant — it’s a gem. I wonder where it will be going. Gail Ciampa writes:
Following a comprehensive renovation and restoration of the building, the Federal Hill location will house two new establishments: Wally’s Wieners and Copper Club. Both will be run by Brad Head who established Wally’s Wieners on Thames Street in Newport . . .
This hospitality group has been gobbling up restaurants around Newport including Flo’s Clam Shack which they better not ruin.
About that sign: One of my favorite IG accounts is the NY Sign Museum, a project of Noble Signs. Both are wonderful. We used to have a similar museum. I wrote about the Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts Museum back in 2017, just before it closed.* It was a cavernous facility at the Harborside Campus and I always had the place to myself as I wandered about. I have been waiting for years for the school to open a new museum somewhere downtown, but it never happened.
It was an enormous space featuring the restored Ever Ready Diner that used to be on Admiral Street, as well as plenty of neon signs, exhibits of candy molds, vintage stoves, a huge collection of vintage fruit crates, and a sensitive treatment of the old dining cars where African-American men served as waiters and porters — and were always called “George.” They must still have all this stuff, so here’s my idea:
Later this year, Brown’s Haffenreffer Museum Of Anthropology will be moving into 1 Davol Square in the Jewelry District, a building owned by the university. This promises to be a very exciting addition to the city; their vast collections will finally be on view. I walked through this building a few months ago and there just might be another sizeable space that would be perfect for the return of the culinary museum. (The building looks to be severely underused, although Brown may have really big plans.) What an asset that could be.
*There still seems to be some modified version of what it once was, open to students and faculty.
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About Camille’s: This restaurant is a completely separate operation from the Old Canteen and will remain open during the upcoming closure next door. Established in 1914, proper dress is still required. Below is an old neon sign that had been on display in the former Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts Museum.
The Culinary Arts Museum was great. Its closing was a huge disappointment. Your idea of reviving it in Davol Square is perfect.