Local eateries featured on Food Network show

PROVIDENCE—A small Providence restaurant is getting some big exposure thanks to Food Network star Guy Fieri.

His show, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” takes him to establishments across the country.

On Wednesday it took him to the city’s east side to highlight Louis Family Restaurant.

“This is the travel guide of funky joints, that’s what ‘Triple D’ is,“ he said. “And the great thing is, I love places like this where they held out, they didn’t sell out.“

The restaurant has been in John Gianfrancesco’s family for over 60 years. His father, Louis, had a grocery store in Eagle Square, before constructing this building on Brook Street in 1946.

“They put the restaurant in the basement and the grocery store upstairs because they didn’t think a restaurant would take off and be profitable back then,“ Gianfrancesco said.

It became profitable, and the restaurant won out and got “upstairs” status.

The eatery is still family run. John, his brother, his sister, and niece all work at the restaurant. And on Wednesday, Fieri was working at the restaurant too.

“We’re making turkey dinner, granola pancakes and barbecue chicken ravioli,“ he said.

Fieri, who happens to be married to a Rhode Islander, said he likes to feature menu items that aren’t typical and places that may not get all the attention they deserve.

“We come and we highlight this and people go, ‘Wait a sec. That’s in my backyard? I gotta go there.‘ And it’ll change people’s lives forever,“ he said.

After Louis Family Restaurant, Fieri said he will head south to Crazy Burger in Narragansett and then hit Morin’s in Attleboro.

The shows are scheduled to air in the fall.