Federal Hill, Old and New

There used to be a lot of guys on Federal Hill like Andy Merolla, Jr. – guys who remember the golden age of Providence’s Little Italy; guys who learned good hospitality in restaurants where the owner would come over to your table and make it seem like he knew you, even if he didn’t (especially if you were with a pretty girl and looking to impress her). Andy Jr. was just a teenager then, but he remembers those days fondly. He looks back at the restaurateurs like his own father, Andino Merolla, who founded his namesake eatery and Joe Marzilli of the Old Canteen, as living “archives” of the neighborhood. Both of those men are gone now – they died within a couple of weeks of each other some years back – and whether he realizes it or not, it’s up to guys like Andy Jr., comparatively young in his 50s, to become the next generation of “archives.”

In some ways, Andy Jr. is a perfect bridge between the old and new Federal Hills. Andy Jr’s Italian Restaurant (301 Atwells Ave.) is the newest eatery on a strip full of hookah bars, stylish lounges, art galleries, frozen yogurt shops and other things that would have been unthinkable just 15 years ago.

But Andy’s roots in old Federal Hill run deep. He helped his family build – literally build, as in carpentry, painting, etc. – the famed Andino’s, which his brother continues to operate since their father’s passing. His grandmother owned a little frittata shop back in the day that my own father still talks about 30-plus years later. He grew up on Knight Street and hung out by the pool at the Zuccolo Rec Center. His new restaurant is a reflection of those roots. It was designed as a tribute to Italy, where Andy spent some time after leaving Andino’s. The bar is clad in wine boxes from Rome and the floor is tile from Florence. The menu is everything familiar, done well, simply prepared with fresh ingredients. It offers classic comforts, like meatballs that aren’t even on the menu, but are made according to a recipe so dear to him that he claims, “I threw the help out of the kitchen because I didn’t want them to see me make it.”

Andy does the things he needs to do to be a restaurateur on the new Federal Hill: he offers $5 martinis on ladies night and discounts to Yelp reviewers, and on the day I visited was running a 50-foot Ethernet cable because his wireless internet wasn’t reliable enough to provide uninterrupted Pandora radio. But he’s also ensuring that a bit of old Federal Hill stays with us. He plans to start offering breakfast from 7-11:30am on Saturdays and Sundays (currently, he’s only open for dinner and drinks from 4pm-1am), making frittatas himself, just the way his grandmother did.

And when you walk into his restaurant, there’s a good chance he’ll be sitting by the bar, waiting to greet you (and your date) as if he’s an old friend. “How many owners come over to your table?” he asks rhetorically. “I give people that presence that they’re family.”

Andy Merolla Jr. grew up on Federal Hill, worked there for 20-plus years, left and has now returned. “I missed it,” he says. “I missed the company of good people, making them feel at home and special.” Now that he’s got his own place, he can stick around and become a living “archive” unto himself.