I honestly don't know what the surprise was all about. I am a 33-year resident and huge fan of Providence, and happen to have been the first waiter at DownCity Diner when it opened at its original location at 111 Eddy Street (not Weybosset). It was a breakfast and lunch place, no liquor, and quickly very popular with people who worked downtown and the LGBT community. Eventually original owner Anthony Salemme (never mentioned in the article) introduced Providence to menu items inspired by his world travels without straying too much from the diner theme (remember the Strata? Huevos Rancheros?). As the customers began to beg for Anthony to expand to a dinner menu, the place was always overflowing. And expand it did. He banged out into the derelict dress shop on the corner of Weybosset, and the old banner that flew over the Eddy Street entrance was put into storage. It was a great success. After 1995 Paul Shire was brought in to manage the kitchen at dinner and made partner, but the bar slowly became the focus at night. By the time Anthony sold the place in 1995, the food quality was already suffering. I don't know what the new owners' restaurant experience was (bar tending, banking?) but we never really got to see it shine due to the fire a year later. When it reopened, it was a mishmash of cuisines, not of it special. Gordon Ramsey was spot on in his comments. Soggy calamari swimming in oil, chicken paillard fried into leather, under cooked crab cakes, crappy service, and a filthy kitchen. Waitstaff and kitchen staff were loudly criticized in front of customers. Very bad vibe. But boy was it popular with the bar patrons. Although the meatloaf was gone on the new menu, I think Ramsey breathed some life into this place. Ultimately, it was the huge amount of debt hanging over the owners' heads that brought them down, but this place had had its zenith years earlier.
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