TV Restaurants

Who Runs Down City Now? Kitchen Nightmares Update (Providence, RI)

New owners verified

As of September 2026, Down City operates under new ownership — confirmed via golocalprov.com, December 12, 2011.

Primary source
golocalprov.com ·
Secondary source
Yelp ·

Last verified

What the source shows: GoLocalProv reported on December 12, 2011 that DownCity had closed, quoting co-owner Abby Cabral's farewell message from the restaurant's own website; Circe Restaurant & Bar, a different restaurant under different ownership, now operates at the address, per a Yelp listing updated in July 2026 and the business's own live website.

  • Season / episode Season 4, Episode 7
  • Original air date
  • Address 50 Weybosset St, Providence, RI 02903
  • Current name Circe Restaurant & Bar

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What happened after Kitchen Nightmares?

DownCity, an American comfort-food restaurant a few blocks from the Providence River, was featured in Kitchen Nightmares' seventh episode of Season 4, filmed in December 2010 and aired March 11, 2011. Co-owners Abby Cabral, who ran daily operations after three decades in restaurants, and Rico Conforti, a finance professional who supplied roughly a million dollars in capital, had bought the business in 2005. Their introduction to Ramsay set the tone for a famously contentious episode: after Ramsay mentioned disappointing hotel room service, Abby took offense and rated her own menu a 10 out of 10, a claim Ramsay's tasting did not support -- he described the calamari as soggy and the "Party-in-Your-Mouth" nachos as a letdown, and found the meatloaf lukewarm. A kitchen inspection turned up moldy food, and when Ramsay raised it with the owners, Abby responded by accusing him of planting the mess himself and ordering him off the premises. Staff, meanwhile, told Ramsay the sprawling menu was a known problem that Abby had refused to trim.

After the confrontation cooled, Ramsay worked with Rico and the kitchen to pare the menu down to a shorter, comfort-food-focused list, including a goat cheese truffle dip, meatball sliders, and a redone meatloaf, and invited a local food blogger who had previously panned the restaurant to the relaunch. The new dishes went over well with the room, and the kitchen, initially overwhelmed, found its footing as the night wore on.

Ramsay returned for a Season 5 revisit that showed business up roughly 30 percent, though he also worked through friction between Abby and Rico over how Abby had begun addressing her business partner. The recovery did not hold. According to a December 12, 2011 report from GoLocalProv, and a farewell note the owners posted to DownCity's own website, the restaurant closed that month, citing the broader economic downturn; Abby's message thanked "everyone and anyone that has ever walked through the doors of DOWNCITY." Circe Restaurant & Bar, a New American restaurant led by chef Simon Keating, now operates at the same 50 Weybosset Street address; a Yelp listing for Circe was updated in July 2026 with several hundred reviews, and the business's own website remains live.

Featured on Kitchen Nightmares

Season / episode
Season 4, Episode 7
Original air date
Episode title
Down City
What was featured
American comfort food; oversized menu and combative owner
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Down City

Frequently asked questions

Is Down City still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Down City operates under new ownership — confirmed via golocalprov.com, December 12, 2011.

What happened to Down City after Kitchen Nightmares?

DownCity, an American comfort-food restaurant a few blocks from the Providence River, was featured in Kitchen Nightmares' seventh episode of Season 4, filmed in December 2010 and aired March 11, 2011. As of September 2026, Down City operates under new ownership — confirmed via golocalprov.com, December 12, 2011.

What is Down City called now?

Now: Circe Restaurant & Bar (formerly Down City). As of September 2026, Down City operates under new ownership — confirmed via golocalprov.com, December 12, 2011.

Where is Down City located?

50 Weybosset St, Providence, RI 02903. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Kitchen Nightmares featured Down City?

Season 4, Episode 7 of Kitchen Nightmares, first aired March 11, 2011. The episode is titled “Down City”.

Who owns Down City now?

As of September 2026, Down City operates under new ownership — confirmed via golocalprov.com, December 12, 2011. We name individual owners only where a source we cite names them.

Did the makeover last at Down City?

The episode first aired March 11, 2011. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 15 years later —: As of September 2026, Down City operates under new ownership — confirmed via golocalprov.com, December 12, 2011.

What do reviews say since Kitchen Nightmares?

According to a December 12, 2011 report from GoLocalProv, and a farewell note the owners posted to DownCity's own website, the restaurant closed that month, citing the broader economic downturn; Abby's message thanked "everyone and anyone that has ever walked through the doors of DOWNCITY." Circe Restaurant & Bar, a New American restaurant led by chef Simon Keating, now operates at the same 50 Weybosset Street address; a Yelp listing for Circe was updated in July 2026 with several hundred reviews, and the business's own website remains live. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Is Down City still using the Kitchen Nightmares menu or branding?

Their introduction to Ramsay set the tone for a famously contentious episode: after Ramsay mentioned disappointing hotel room service, Abby took offense and rated her own menu a 10 out of 10, a claim Ramsay's tasting did not support -- he described the calamari as soggy and the "Party-in-Your-Mouth" nachos as a letdown, and found the meatloaf lukewarm. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
50 Weybosset St, Providence, RI 02903
Venue type
restaurant

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