Joe Marzilli’s Old Canteen Italian Restaurant has been a staple in Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood for nearly 70 years. Its owner, Sal Marzilli, gives a behind-the-scenes tour, as the iconic establishment faces an uncertain future.
Sal Marzilli is proud of the tradition started by his father at the Old Canteen. Joseph Marzilli opened the business in 1956, and his influence on the venerable eatery remains strong.
The dining room has not changed in nearly 70 years, including its pink theme.
“My big question (was) when I was young, when I asked my dad, ‘Why the color pink?’ Sal says.
As Sal explains it, the pink lighting in the dining room — and the pink walls — gives a reflection on people’s skins and “makes their skin look a little healthier.”
But do not be fooled by the warm décor. Joe Marzilli was a demanding boss and a stickler for details.
“My dad was tough,” Sal remembers. “He was tough on me as his son learning the operation.
“And until the day he died, it had to be his way, and I respect that.”
Sal got his start in the Old Canteen working in the dishwasher area and then graduated to making salads. When he got to the hotline, “they started letting me put pasta in a basket” and dunking it in the water before placing it on a plate.
He eventually became head chef at the restaurant and took over the business when his father stepped down.
Like going to the theater
Running a restaurant is an art, and on a busy Saturday night, the dining room at the Old Canteen resembles a play, with Sal directing the action.
“It’s like going to the theater,” Sal says. “It’s where everything has to be just perfect.”
And just like a play, there are different challenges every night.
“Once you get behind those doors in that kitchen, it’s a whole ‘nother world,” Sal says. “‘Cause that’s where you hear sometimes the foul language. That’s where you hear a little bit of screaming and laughing and joking.
“So it’s like night and day between the two types of, the two things that are going on in this business, all trying to create this play.
It is pretty much organized chaos.”
The menu at the Old Canteen even has a touch of celebrity, featuring an entree called “veal tenderloin steak a la Frank.”
That dish honors Frank Sinatra, a frequent patron of the restaurant. Ol’ Blue Eyes would sit down for a late meal after performing at the Warwick Musical Theater or the Civic Center.
“He used to come here for dinner,” Sal says.
‘If these walls had ears ...’
The bar in the lounge at the Old Canteen was a gathering place for Rhode Island politicians, judges and even some “nefarious types,” Sal says.
“If these walls had ears,” he says.
Bookmakers rubbed elbows with mayors and magistrates.
It was neutral territory, Sal explains, comparing it to Switzerland.
“When they’re in the Old Canteen, they’re here to have a good time, eat, drink, and be merry,” he says.
Former Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci sat at the same table for years.
“He spent every night before every election just sitting in here alone, discussing things with my father, talking, doodling on the tablecloth,” Sal says.
Cianci signed a photograph of City Hall that is hanging on a wall. It offers some sage advice: “Just remember, the toe you step on today, may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow.”
“Typical Buddy Cianci quote,” Sal says.
After Cianci’s death in January 2016, the Old Canteen left his favorite table empty with a candle burning in his memory.
Sal says his favorite spot in the restaurant is the area where his father stood and greeted every customer nightly for almost 52 years.
“This is his baby, this is what he created. When I was younger, my father pushed me away from this life, but I won out.”
And when he is working, Sal says he still thinks about his father.
“Every day,” he sighs. “Every day.”
About Window on Rhode Island: Rhode Island PBS Weekly’s Window on Rhode Island series takes viewers behind the scenes to see some of the Ocean State’s most remarkable places. Rhode Island PBS Weekly airs Sundays/Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
