The face of Providence’s North End is both young and old.

There was a time when food markets did business up and down Charles Street. Maria and Graziano Broccoli remember those days in their Italian specialty market that has been there for 46 years at No. 787.

Today there are several new kids on the block starting their own businesses, growing establishments and making a living serving some pretty tasty foods.

In recent months, Yen and Annie Khoo have opened Khoo’s Kitchen at No. 605 with familiar Chinese dishes and a few Malaysian specialties.

Shea Ferace has spruced up the space at No. 590 and installed Charles Street Pizza, with Italian-style pies as well as hot subs and salads.

Chef Gianfranco Campanella has been at No. 633 for a while, having bought Anita’s Cheesecake and Bakery as a facility to make wedding cakes as well as the desserts that he provides grocery stores and restaurants.

Anchoring the lower end of the street is Pearl Restaurant and Lounge at No. 393.

Way up at No. 805 there are all the fresh breads, pastries and lunch treats like calzones and stuffed pizzas at Borelli’s Bakery, a second generation business.

Across from Hopkins Square at No. 567 is Carcieri’s Market, one of those great grocery stores with real butchers.

Still to come, Bill and Kerrie Almon are restoring a beautiful brick building at the corner of Charles and Gillen to create a neighborhood coffee shop and cafe.

Working to bring them all together for the greater good is Linda Andreoli. She watches over the neighborhood like a mother hen from her spot at Spike’s Junkyard Dogs, which she co-owns with her son Bobby. She is president of the Providence North End Business Association and has worked with the city to introduce flower planters and decorative trash receptacles to brighten the neighborhood.

There are still the occasional abandoned lots, like the empty one that still sprouts the sign for Ben Weiss’s Charles Street Oyster House, which closed in the mid-’80s. But there is also a lot to enjoy, from Flowers by Patricia to the food venues.

Start a walk at the corner of Charles Street and Branch Avenue, near the lovely St. Ann Church, where they’ll hold a feast on July 25 and 26. This is also where you’ll find Hopkins Square, which will be the site for “Opera in the Park – 2008” each Sunday in July.

Linda and Bobby Andreoli got the first Spike’s franchise sold by founder David Drake just over seven years ago. They set up shop at 485 Branch Ave. at Hopkins Square, and were welcomed by the neighborhood.

“As soon as we opened the doors, the people were waiting for us,” Linda said.

She was a waitress at Capriccio and her son just starting out when Bobby convinced Drake that with their youth and experience, they had what it takes to run a restaurant. She said people ask her how she works with her son and she said they get along great.

“I work days and he works nights,” she said with a laugh.

The restaurant serves many items beyond the namesake dogs, which are all beef and free of any filler. The menu includes chicken (grilled as well as wings and tenders), salads and grinders with freshly baked rolls. Best selling, though, is the Texas Ranger dog with barbecue sauce, melted cheese and bacon.

Setting up on the Square was a homecoming for her, as she and Bobby lived next door to Anita’s when her son was young.

A few blocks down at 569 Branch Ave. stands Hope Creamery. This cheerful ice cream shop with the freshly painted purple picnic tables and parking lot serves Bliss Ice Cream as well as soft serve and smoothies.

Shea Turner opened the shop eight years ago and opens seven days a week from noon to 11 p.m. She makes her own waffle cones, lemonade, brownies for sundaes and candied apples.

The shopping is as fine as the eating on nearby Charles Street.

Carcieri’s Market has been operating there since 1924 but it has grown by leaps and bounds since Lana and Gerald Amodei bought it in 1976. It was half the size before they added a produce area in ’83 and more parking lot space.

“We have a loyal customer base, including some who’ve moved away and who come back to shop,” said Lana.

Not surprisingly, the meat department represents half of their business. All the meat is cut by butchers on the premises, even those packaged for convenience. All the chickens come in on ice and are then cut and packaged in the store.

“We get a lot of compliments on our meat,” she said.

Carcieri’s does no cooking other than rotisserie chicken. They are about the meat and produce and dried specialty pasta imported from Italy, and all the local breads that come in from area bakeries like Calise and Borelli’s.

Carmine Borelli grew up on a street behind Carcieri’s Market. When he moved his bakery to Charles Street two years ago to consolidate two stores and a wholesale business, “it was like coming home” to the old neighborhood. His old friends drop by and he loves it.

His father, Carmine, and uncles Nick and Tommy ran the original Borelli’s Bakery on Smith Street in North Providence for some 50 years. He worked for them as a kid.

Eventually the older generation retired and closed the bakery. But 12 years ago, Carmine got back into the business, opening his own Borelli’s with his father’s recipe for great crusty Italian bread. He was on Waterman Avenue in North Providence and then had two stores, one on Mineral Spring Avenue and one in Westerly. Two years ago he moved the business to Charles Street.

There he introduced his very popular stuffed pizzas.

As he talked, he had just made a lasagna one for the Friday lunch crowd. He usually has a spinach one, eggplant and a meat one, too. He’d just made a broccoli and chicken for summer diners. He sells them buy the slice, as that makes a meal.

The bakery also offers a lot of calzones and Italian pastries, as well as some interesting choices such as Raspberry Mousse Bismark.

New to the street is Shea Ferace and his Charles Street Pizza, which offers delivery as well as take-out. He’s been open for just five months, making his Italian-style pizza with whole milk mozzarella in the shop, which was formerly Sorrento Pizza. His goal? Cater to the neighborhood.

He came into the restaurant and did a lot of painting, hung photos taken by his brother and added new lighting and hanging blackboard menus.

“I tried to make it my own,” he said.

He also carries a variety of Italian meats, such as prosciutto for grinders, and serves calzones.

Brand new to the neighborhood are Yen and Annie Khoo and their month-old Khoo Kitchen. They too deliver, have a few tables and cater to take-out. They have a three-month-old son, Jaden.

Yen previously cooked at the Islander in Warwick and Asia Grille in Lincoln for his uncle Charles Chin. Yen, who came from Malaysia, said his dream is to open a Malaysian restaurant, but being practical, it was better to offer Chinese specialties including appetizers and lo mein, moo shi and chow mein.

But if you ask, he’ll point out three dishes that feature the fresh flavors from his native land — Tumeric chicken wings, Malaysian Fried Rice with chicken and shrimp fried with pineapple and cashew nuts, and the spicy Mee Goreng. This yellow noodle dish includes sprouts and shrimp and is served with a fresh lime and a warming aroma.

The Khoos moved to Charles Street because they could afford the space there and he believes there is a market in the neighborhood for their dishes.

Nearby at No. 611 is Toofs Market, selling African specialty foods and goods, and the Caribe Supermarket at No. 615 with a sandwich counter in the back offering choices that include Cubano sandwiches.

The familiar face behind the door at Anita’s Cheesecake and Bakery is not the founder but chef Gianfranco Campanella, who has cooked at Meditteraneo and Caffe Dolce Vita.

The building houses the bakery where he produces more than 45 desserts for supermarkets, popular restaurants — he won’t name names — and Monroe Dairy, which offers the desserts for sale in their delivery service. They are sold under his Gianfranco’s Sweet Ideas label.

Other than the holiday season at Thanksgiving and Christmas when he stocks pies and desserts, he uses the space as a showroom for his wedding cakes and his Providence Wedding Cake Co. His own, from his nuptials last fall, is on display. Only whole cheesecakes are available for cash and carry.

There are many things to savor and buy at Graziano Gourmet Foods, including Parma prosciutto, Sicilian olives, dried pastas, San Marzano tomatoes, imported cheeses and olive oils. They are also makers and wholesalers of sausage, which is also available in the store.

Owner Graziano Broccoli makes trips to food shows in Italy to keep up with the market for imported goods. He is one of only a handful of importers of speck, a cured pork similar to prosciutto.

Pearl Restaurant, No. 393, is before Hopkins Square where we began our food tour, but it is notable for its design of South Beach glitz, the innovative menu including a sushi bar and a busy ultra-lounge scene which includes a fun space outside with a landscaped courtyard terrace with dramatic lighting and tropical themes.

From Malaysia to the tropics, there’s something for everyone along Charles Street.

Enjoy ‘Opera in the Park’ before dinner1

Beyond the food, there’s another reason for staycationers (the term for those who are staying home to vacation this summer) to visit Providence’s North End and Charles Street neighborhood this summer.

Hopkins Square, at the corner of Charles Street and Branch Avenue, will be the site of “Opera in the Park — 2008,” a series of four free concerts presented by Opera Providence each Sunday in July beginning at 5 p.m. It will be an All-American opera program on July 6 and Italian favorites on July 13. Opera for the whole family will be featured on July 20 and Broadway favorites on July 27.

It’s best to get there early and stake out a spot with a lawn chair or blanket. The concerts last about an hour.

Then you can try one of the spots to eat in the neighborhood.

On July 13 and 27, there will be a post-performance dinner celebration at 6:30 p.m. at the new Danella’s Restaurant, 332 Atwells Ave, Providence. Reservations are $50 per person. Reserve at (401) 331-6060 as seating is limited.

NORTH END slide show with more markets and people: Projo.com/food

gciampa@projo.com