Wishing for the Way Things Used to Be

Who are we without the Old Canteen and Olneyville New York System?

February 26, 2025

Jamie Coelho,

Latenight at Olneyville New York System. Photo by Jamie Coelho.

I am sad. I’m in a funk. I just can’t shake it. It started with the political firestorm with the new president that was selected by the American people, and now it’s infected everything I know and love about Rhode Island. I am sure many Rhode Islanders feel what I feel (and I am not even from Rhode Island!). It has to do with our beloved restaurants and family spots that have been around for decades that are now changing hands and being taken over by new ownership. When everything else around me changes, I always felt I could step into these spots and everything would remain the same, as it should. No matter what is going on out there, my worries would stay outside the door, and I could be comforted and happy in the moment and make new memories. That has changed.

It started with places like Brick Alley Pub, then the Red Parrot. Next it was Flo’s Clam Shack. I spent my teens and twenties in these places on my day trips to Newport and Portsmouth, freshly in a new relationship with my now husband. After the beach, we’d stop for clam cakes and chowder and lobster rolls at Flo’s (and we didn’t even mind the slight ‘tude at the counter when we didn’t place our order fast enough for the crowd that wound around the corner.) We’d hit up Brick Alley Pub for burgers and tacos that we could afford on our paltry summer job salaries. And at the Red Parrot, I dipped into Caribbean cuisine for the first time, trying menu items like mahi mahi and coconut curry, which I had never experienced before. All of those places took hold in my head and my heart, creating lasting memories of joy and carefree fun that I can recall in a single moment of reflection during bland adulthood. When news spread that Heritage Restaurant Group was taking over these spots, I was not surprised. I knew something about them would change, and it wouldn’t be the same, despite the ownership’s reassurance of keeping things the same. I haven’t been back since the change in ownership, so I can’t say for sure if all is calm on the western front.

Flo’s Drive-In in Portsmouth.

So then last month, I went on Instagram one day and saw that Joe Marzilli’s Old Canteen was potentially being sold to the same Heritage Restaurant Group. The caption read that it was set to become a Wally’s Wieners, and I thought it was a joke. The Old Canteen a wiener joint? Say it isn’t so. I checked the calendar and it was not in fact April Fool’s Day. It took me almost a week to come out of that bout of depression, mostly because I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye. There are so many things that make the Old Canteen uniquely Rhode Island. I wasn’t ready to lose it forever.

The dining room at Joe Marzilli’s Old Canteen.

The funny thing is, our March issue of Rhode Island Monthly is “The Crime Issue,” featuring the history of Organized Crime in Rhode Island and a tribute to Federal Hill’s restaurants and institutions. We highlight many great restaurants on the Hill and the people, places and stories from the past. In early January, I wanted to do our “Luxe Life” fashion shoot in the Old Canteen’s rose-colored dining room. The fashion shoot features models in vintage furs and frocks, and I thought the nostalgic dining room would have been perfect for the atmosphere. I left voice messages and tried to contact Sal Marzilli through mutual friends, but to no avail. And then the news came, it would be sold and turned into Wally’s Wieners. I wish they had called me back so we could have paid tribute one last time in the pages of this magazine.

The outside of the Old Canteen.

This was the restaurant where my now husband and I had one of our first dates. It was my twentieth birthday, and our first summer together, and he took me there for my first time. Walking into the place, I was used to more modern-style dining rooms, so as soon as I soaked up the pink-tinged palace, I recalled my grandmother’s house. From the floral drapes to the pink tablecloths, it reminded me of memere’s kitchen (though everything was not coated in transparent plastic, like her house). I ordered the soup, salad, ziti with sauce, and a heaping plate of chicken marsala, followed by the ice cream roll for dessert (the Jello reminded me of my grandfather in his hospital bed, as he’d always let me have it when we visited him when he was sick).

All that pink! The dated decor! As a twenty-year-old, I was slightly confused by the trip back in time, like why didn’t they update this place? Why does it look straight out the ‘50s and ‘60s? But as I grew older, and frequented the restaurant for birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions with my husband’s family, I realized that keeping it the same maintained a sense of nostalgia for everyone. Every time we would go, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, husband, and my mother-in-law’s ninety-year-old mother who lived on the Hill as a kid would recall childhood memories in that dining room. They could instantly remember who they were with, what they were celebrating, what they ate and the anecdotes shared around the table. Many of the people they remembered have died, but they can still see them sitting there at the table like a time capsule. Now that the restaurant has changed hands, and the theme has changed, I wonder if the owner will maintain this mystique in the dining room. If they paint over the walls and change the floral drapes, will our memories be buried under layers of paint, or go out the door with it?

This week, my heart was ripped out again with the news of the sale of Olneyville New York System to Heritage Restaurant Group. This is another place that holds vast space in my head and my heart. I have so many memories of reporting stories here with the owner Greg Stevens. I even have a purse with Olneyville New York System hot wieners on it.

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I own one of only two Olneyville New York System-themed Kent Stetson clutches.

For one feature article I wrote, “Humans of New York System,” I spent a day there before the wienie joint opened to the public. I went in at 9:15 a.m. and had breakfast with longtime customer, then-eighty-two-year-old Rita Downing who would enjoy her breakfast at the counter before it opened to the public (she even had her own key). Olneyville New York System doesn’t even serve breakfast, and she doesn’t work there, she just enjoyed hanging out with the staff while they opened in the morning. I stayed all day for lunch and then came back again for dinner and late night action, interviewing all the regulars and longtime fans who returned from afar for the meat-and-onions aroma and flavor of wieners that brought them back to their childhood.

A hot wiener and coffee milk at Olneyville New York System.

I’ve known the owner Greg Stevens for awhile, and I’ve written about everything from the making of the new neon sign by Providence Painted Signs to the auctions of pieces of the original historic marker. I always knew he wanted to finally retire and eventually enjoy his life not being beholden to restaurant hours. I don’t blame him one bit, but I’m still heartbroken. I always assumed he’d sell to one of our beloved restaurant owners who were regular customers. Someone like Derek Wagner of Nicks on Broadway, or someone like James Mark who formerly owned north restaurant. But why should they take on that burden either? To own a restaurant is to give your life away. To fail to realize that as a customer is to be selfish.

“All the way” and “up the arm” at Olneyville New York System.

I don’t blame Greg. I don’t blame Sal. But I am still very sad. I just assumed the Old Canteen and Olneyville New York System would stay in the hands of someone I know and love. I haven’t met Heritage Restaurant Group owner Nick Schorsch, but I hope he will stay true to his word to keep Olneyville New York System the same. Nick, please let us get to know you. Reassure us locals that you care about Rhode Islanders. Don’t go cutting corners by changing the wiener recipe of a mixture of beef, pork and veal in natural casing, or the East Providence Homestead Baking Company steamed split rolls, the bran mustard, celery salt or onions. Don’t change the expressions “all the way” and “up the arm.” Absolutely DO NOT allow ketchup on hot wieners. Serve it with coffee milk. Only Autocrat coffee syrup with Munroe Dairy milk.

As for the Old Canteen, I hope you keep the rose color and floral drapes in the dining room. I hope you restore the sign and display it for all to admire and remember. It’s not too late to divert from the Wally’s Wieners menu and keep it Italian. We’ll forgive you for your sins. I’m sure you have your eye on Trinity Brewhouse too. If you’re gonna buy it, buy it, but keep it the same. Because if you take away all of these things from us, then we don’t know who we are or where to go. Who are we without our memories?