At 75 years old, Louis Family Restaurant co-owner John Gianfrancesco finally decided it was time for retirement. With John and his brother Albert Gianfranceso ready to hang up their hats, the College Hill staple located at 286 Brook St., served its last meal on Dec. 31 after 79 years in operation.
“It’s just physically impossible to do what we do,” John Gianfranceso told The Herald. “I love the business, but it takes everything we got.”
Louis Gianfrancesco started the restaurant in 1946 and then passed it down to his sons, John Gianfranceso and Albert Gianfranceso, who ran the restaurant until its doors closed.
Over the years, Louis has become a beloved institution among many members of Brown’s community. “I feel like every time I went, I saw other people from Brown there,” said Mary O’Riordan ’27, a former columnist for The Herald. “It felt like an off-campus dining hall.”
In a 2022 interview with The Herald, John Gianfrancesco estimated that students made up 90% of the restaurant’s customers on weekends and about 50% on weekdays.
“I think we had the best customers,” John Gianfrancesco said. “I’m going to miss them more than anything else.”
“I’m truly heartbroken (that) Louis is closed,” wrote Alice Richmond ’28, in a message to The Herald. “I’ll forever miss their banana pancakes and their eclectic decorations.”
Although Louis has closed its doors, the space will not be empty for long. It will soon be occupied by Suis, a cafe specializing in baked goods, desserts and craft drinks inspired by Asian flavors.
“While Suis will have its own identity, we’re working closely with the owners (of Louis) to preserve the spirit of hospitality and care that defined the space,” wrote Ritu Nguyen and Trang Duong, co-owners of Suis, in an email to The Herald. “We’re approaching this transition with a lot of respect for what Louis meant to the community,” they added.
Nguyen said John Gianfrancesco’s involvement with the community was “very touching,” adding that the Louis co-owner helped students move in and out of campus.
“Louis was cozy, approachable and very affordable, which made it the perfect off-campus spot for breakfast,” wrote Juniper Morton ’28 in a message to The Herald. “I will miss going there with my friends on leisurely mornings.”
Charles Strouse ’81, who lived in the apartment above the restaurant, wrote in an email to The Herald that he felt “devastated” about the restaurant’s closure, recalling how he celebrated his 21st birthday by spending all day at Louis. “I ate everything on their menu at least once,” he added.
Claire Murphy ’28 and Caroline Shu ’28, who both play for the Brown women’s lacrosse team, said that Louis has been a regular spot for their team to hang out.
The restaurant workers would “always fold out extra tables for us to all sit together as a team,” Shu said, adding that the workers recognized her and her teammates. “It was almost like a home.”
Employees also were a core part of the restaurant’s tight-knit community: “If they weren’t family, they were like family members,” John Gianfrancesco said.
In continuation of Louis’s legacy of community, Nguyen and Duong hope to “create a space that feels comforting, personal and brings a lot of joy.”
As immigrants from Vietnam, they aim to “contribute to the international community,” Duong said in an interview with The Herald, adding that they hope to create a community where people can “find a bit of themselves.”
Though no official opening date has been set, they hope to open the new cafe in early summer. “The location felt like a natural fit for Suis’s first permanent home,” Nguyen and Duong wrote.
“It was a pleasure and a privilege” to serve the Providence community, said John Gianfrancesco.
Pavani Durbhakula is a senior staff writer and photographer. She is a first-year from DC and plans to study IAPA and Public Health. In her free time, she enjoys baking, reading, and searching for new coffee shops.
