TV Restaurants

Who Runs Stella's Restaurant Now? (New Kensington, PA)

New owners reported

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

Primary source
pittsburghmagazine.com ·
Secondary source
archive.triblive.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: Pittsburgh Magazine reported that operators Philip Call and Jillian Ludwiczak, who took over the space as Call for Catering in 2021 per TribLive's report, later married and renamed the restaurant Jillian's, continuing at the same address under new operators.

  • Season / episode Season 12, Episode 5
  • Original air date
  • Address 400 Freeport St, New Kensington, PA 15068
  • Current name Jillian's Restaurant

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What happened after Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)?

Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network) featured Stella's Restaurant (also billed in some listings as Stella's Dine-Inn) in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, in the episode "Ambush: Fight to the Finish," which aired November 19, 2015. Chef Robert Irvine's crew renovated the dining room and kitchen at the Freeport Street location and worked with the restaurant's team on food quality and service pacing during the show's usual compressed schedule. According to TribLive, the original owner, identified in reporting as Stacy, stepped back from actively running a restaurant in the space by around 2017, though she retained ownership of the building itself. TribLive reported that Philip Call and Jillian Ludwiczak, who had met while working at the restaurant and had been operating a catering business out of its kitchen, planned to reopen the space as "Call for Catering at Stella's," with an announced target date of October 29. That TribLive report and a companion item from the New Kensington Redevelopment group both describe Call and Ludwiczak taking over restaurant operations at the address in 2021, representing a change in the people running the business even though the underlying building ownership did not change hands. A subsequent profile in Pittsburgh Magazine reported that Call and Ludwiczak later married and renamed their restaurant "Jillian's," continuing to operate at the same Freeport Street address under the new operators. The magazine's account, describing events from the spring before publication, is the most recent dated source located for this record; no source reviewed found a closure or a further ownership change since that renaming. Because operational control of the restaurant passed from the original owner to a new pair of operators, and the business took on a new name in the process, this record is classified as a change in both ownership and name rather than a simple rebrand. Yelp's own business page for "Stella's Restaurant," last updated in April 2026, still lists that name as closed, which is consistent with the business having continued under its successor names rather than reopening as Stella's. No source reviewed described any interruption in the restaurant's core continuity between the Call for Catering period and the current Jillian's operation, though the exact chronology of when each name change took effect was not independently confirmed beyond what TribLive and Pittsburgh Magazine reported.

Featured on Restaurant: Impossible

Season / episode
Season 12, Episode 5
Original air date
Episode title
Ambush: Fight to the Finish
What was featured
full kitchen and dining room renovation
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Stella's Restaurant

Frequently asked questions

Is Stella's Restaurant still open in 2026?

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

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

Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network) featured Stella's Restaurant (also billed in some listings as Stella's Dine-Inn) in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, in the episode "Ambush: Fight to the Finish," which aired November 19, 2015. As of September 2026, pittsburghmagazine.com reports Stella's Restaurant changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

What is Stella's Restaurant called now?

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

Where is Stella's Restaurant located?

400 Freeport St, New Kensington, PA 15068. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

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

Season 12, Episode 5 of Restaurant: Impossible, first aired November 19, 2015. The episode is titled “Ambush: Fight to the Finish”.

Who owns Stella's Restaurant now?

As of September 2026, pittsburghmagazine.com reports Stella's 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 Restaurant?

The episode first aired November 19, 2015. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 11 years later —: As of September 2026, pittsburghmagazine.com reports Stella's Restaurant changed ownership; reviewed by our team, not yet independently confirmed.

What do reviews say since Restaurant: Impossible?

The magazine's account, describing events from the spring before publication, is the most recent dated source located for this record; no source reviewed found a closure or a further ownership change since that renaming. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

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

Because operational control of the restaurant passed from the original owner to a new pair of operators, and the business took on a new name in the process, this record is classified as a change in both ownership and name rather than a simple rebrand. 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
400 Freeport St, New Kensington, PA 15068
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

  • pittsburghmagazine.com — https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/jillians-restaurant-new-kensington/
  • archive.triblive.com — https://archive.triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/call-for-catering-to-reopen-restaurant-at-stellas-in-new-kensington/
  • newkenredevelopment.org — https://www.newkenredevelopment.org/post/call-for-catering-to-reopen-restaurant-at-stella-s-in-new-kensington
  • Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/stellas-restaurant-new-kensington

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Record ri-138 · last verified .