TV Restaurants

Who Runs Stella's Italian Restaurant Now? (Stratford, CT)

New owners reported

As of September 2026, hartfordbusiness.com reports Stella's Italian Restaurant changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

Primary source
hartfordbusiness.com ·
Secondary source
foodnetworkgossip.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: Hartford Business Journal reported that La Fortuna, a new Italian restaurant under different ownership, opened in the renovated Oronoque Shopping Plaza space that had held Stella's, which Food Network Gossip had reported closed in July 2014.

  • Season / episode Season 4, Episode 5
  • Original air date
  • Address 7365 Main St, Stratford, CT 06614
  • Current name La Fortuna

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What happened after Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)?

Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network) featured Stella's Italian Restaurant of Stratford, Connecticut, in an episode that aired August 8, 2012. The family-owned pizzeria and Italian restaurant, in business since 1978, struggled, as shown in the episode, with a menu that had grown too large and inconsistent for the kitchen to execute well, along with a dining room in need of updating. As shown in the episode, Robert Irvine judged the restaurant's core pizza recipe strong enough that his team left it entirely untouched rather than reworking it from scratch.

Instead, Irvine's team built a new line of signature pasta sauces and pizzas around Stella's existing strengths and streamlined the rest of the menu, blending Italian standbys with new dishes, including a pasta dish credited to Irvine himself featuring fresh basil and potato puree served alongside a New York strip steak. The goal was a tighter, more consistent menu that would let the kitchen keep quality high during weekend rushes without overextending the staff.

Despite the changes, Food Network Gossip reported in July 2014 that Stella's Italian Restaurant had closed. The restaurant had operated out of the Oronoque Shopping Plaza at 7365 Main Street, a location that had served Stratford diners for more than three decades under the same family.

Roughly a decade later, Hartford Business Journal reported that a new restaurant, La Fortuna, had opened at the same Oronoque Shopping Plaza address, describing it as a "savory successor to Stella's" occupying a renovated version of the old space. La Fortuna serves contemporary Italian fare, including brick-oven pizza, under ownership unconnected to the family that ran Stella's for nearly four decades. Because the address now operates under a different name and a different owner rather than the original business simply reopening, this counts as a change of both name and ownership at the same location.

Featured on Restaurant: Impossible

Season / episode
Season 4, Episode 5
Original air date
Episode title
Stella's Italian Restaurant
What was featured
New pasta sauce and pizza line, streamlined Italian menu
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Stella's Italian Restaurant

Frequently asked questions

Is Stella's Italian Restaurant still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, hartfordbusiness.com reports Stella's Italian Restaurant changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

What happened to Stella's Italian Restaurant after Restaurant: Impossible?

Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network) featured Stella's Italian Restaurant of Stratford, Connecticut, in an episode that aired August 8, 2012. As of September 2026, hartfordbusiness.com reports Stella's Italian Restaurant changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

What is Stella's Italian Restaurant called now?

Now: La Fortuna (formerly Stella's Italian Restaurant). As of September 2026, hartfordbusiness.com reports Stella's Italian Restaurant changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

Where is Stella's Italian Restaurant located?

7365 Main St, Stratford, CT 06614. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Restaurant: Impossible featured Stella's Italian Restaurant?

Season 4, Episode 5 of Restaurant: Impossible, first aired August 8, 2012. The episode is titled “Stella's Italian Restaurant”.

Who owns Stella's Italian Restaurant now?

As of September 2026, hartfordbusiness.com reports Stella's Italian Restaurant changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed. We name individual owners only where a source we cite names them.

Did the makeover last at Stella's Italian Restaurant?

The episode first aired August 8, 2012. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 14 years later —: As of September 2026, hartfordbusiness.com reports Stella's Italian Restaurant changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

Is Stella's Italian Restaurant still using the Restaurant: Impossible menu or branding?

The family-owned pizzeria and Italian restaurant, in business since 1978, struggled, as shown in the episode, with a menu that had grown too large and inconsistent for the kitchen to execute well, along with a dining room in need of updating. 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
7365 Main St, Stratford, CT 06614
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • foodnetworkgossip.com — https://www.foodnetworkgossip.com/2014/07/stellas-from-restaurant-impossible-has.html
  • hartfordbusiness.com — https://hartfordbusiness.com/article/in-stratford-a-savory-successor-to-stellas/
  • foodnetwork.com — https://www.foodnetwork.com/restaurants/ct/stratford/stellas-italian-restaurant-restaurant

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Record ri-043 · last verified .