Food - News
Here's How Mainelli's Is Doing After Restaurant: Impossible
By MOLLY CLARK
In 2011, Robert Irvine visited Mainelli’s in Providence, Rhode Island, to film one of the earliest episodes of "Restaurant: Impossible." The restaurant had fallen into disrepair and the food began to suffer, with then-owner Jerry Picaro telling Irvine that if the issues weren’t solved, the restaurant would shut permanently in three weeks.
Following Irvine’s efforts on “Restaurant: Impossible,” Mainelli’s reopened to positive reviews, as one Yelp reviewer commented in late 2011, “Great owners, great food, and great guests made our evening an enjoyable one.” Unfortunately, in January 2012, the restaurant closed after a car crashed through the restaurant.
The entire property — including the restaurant, its kitchen equipment, and the upstairs apartment — was sold in October 2013. Although Picaro had hoped to reopen elsewhere, Mainelli’s days are apparently over, but you can still buy a Mainelli’s menu from the 1930s on eBay for $189.99.