Clockwise, from top: La Lupita’s Mexican torta with chorizo, fried pork and steak; a huarache with chorizo and steak; and a chicken tostada. The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

Olneyville has been a food destination for me ever since I found La Lupita Tacos Mexicanos in the heart of the square.

There at the taqueria and market at 1950 Westminster St. I can get a warm quesadilla with cool lettuce and perfectly tender chicken ($1.62) within a few minutes of ordering from owners Amelia and Jaime Blancas, who opened up shop five years ago. With sauces of varying heat, I can turn up the spice on a quesadilla or prefer to savor the flavor of chorizo sausage on a huarache, a sort of Mexican pizza.

But it’s hardly the only spot to enjoy a bite, and a bargain, in this corner of Providence.

There’s a real Rhode Island institution here — Olneyville New York System at 20 Plainfield St. Among the hot wieners one can easily get lost in the stories told by the Stevens’ family and the three generations who’ve played varying roles in its operation.

Olneyville Square is also home to a Salvadoran bakery and other restaurants, including the iconic Wes’ Rib House. Venture a bit away from the square and there’s a new world of businesses filling up old factory buildings along Valley Street. On the food side they include a lovely café and a new Cuban Revolution, the second location of the popular Downcity eatery.

But let’s start at the beginning with the Olneyville New York System, which has been in the square since the late ’30s when Anthony Stavrianakos, a Greek immigrant, opened the restaurant with his son Nicholas serving hot wieners and a luncheon menu. In 1953 it moved to its present location.

Today Nicholas’s son Peter Stevens (the family changed their name along the line) runs the business with son Greg and daughter Stephanie Turini. His grandson John Turini, 12, is ready to help out with those pesky dirty dishes.

Grandpa Peter remembers dish duty less than fondly.

“It’s my worst memory,” he said. “Working with no air conditioning and doing the dishes in very hot water.”

The restaurant was open 24 hours a day except for Thanksgiving and Christmas until 1968.

These days, it stays open late, till 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 a.m. every other day. Doors open at 11 a.m. The family has a second restaurant at 1012 Reservoir Ave. in Cranston, which opened in 1981.

“Olneyville was the place when the mills were going,” Peter said. “It was like Times Square.”

People socialized and had drinks when they got out of work. Stephanie remembers the busy Royal Theatre.

Then in the ’70s, the mills, which mostly produced jewelry and the findings to make it, started closing. The neighborhood’s other restaurants like White Tower, Olympic and Twinny’s Diner shut down.

“We work to keep things the same,” said Greg. And that means keeping meals well under $10. Two wieners, a side of fries and a coffee milk cost just $7.88.

He said taxis still pull up to the door and guys come in and say they just came from the airport, returning to Rhode Island from away.

“One guy tells me he’s here to see his mother who he hadn’t seen in 10 years but he had to stop here first for a wiener,” he said. “It’s a taste of Rhode Island. It’s unique.”

They sell the spice mix for the wiener topping in stores as well as at the restaurant, and soon they’ll market their natural casing wieners, a blend of pork, beef and veal.

Greg said he never knows who will walk through the doors. A few years ago, during the run of the CVS charity golf event, five guys in suits came in and one of them was golfer Greg Norman.

Olneyville has been immortalized in the Showtime series Brotherhood, but what matters most to the Stevenses is the family of employees (like Jimmy Saccoccio, with 35 years) and regular customers who keeping coming back.

Today, others have come from far away to establish businesses in the neighborhood and hope to have the staying power of Olneyville New York System.

Panaderia Y Reposteria Salvadorena is a sweet-smelling bakery opened by Maria Turcios five years ago. A lemon tree sits in the corner of the shop at 47 Olneyville Square. Lovely aromas waft from the fresh breads, including sweet varieties, on the menu along with pastries and the muffins.

But that’s not the end of her selections. She makes sandwiches including Cubano, chicken and Salvadoran steak. There are beautiful birthday cakes waiting for candles to be added and songs to be sung.

Siraj Gul, a native of Afghanistan, opened Kennedy Fried Chicken at 9 Olneyville Square five years ago. This fast food business serves chicken meals, hot wings, gyro sandwiches and even Philly cheese steaks. Sides with biscuits are part of the menu, as is ice cream.

Manning the counter, Amir Wahaj said staff arrives at 9 a.m. to get ready for the day and the restaurant stays open late, until 1 a.m. Nights are busy, he added.

At 1955 Westminster St., La Hacienda Restaurant offers Mexican food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With food neatly displayed in steam trays and walls painted a lively orange, several of Providence’s finest were enjoying a quick lunch. They said if you are looking for something other than the usual lunch fare, or breakfast eggs, this is the place.

There are daily specials as well as burritos, tacos and soups including pozole (honey soup) and Menudo beef soup.

A short walk away at 38 Dike St. sits Wes’ Rib House, high above the street. Michael Solomon was among five owners who established the barbecue spot in 1982; now only he remains.

The restaurant has grown up — no more plastic for utensils and an elegant new bar (with a boar stuffed above it).

Corporate catering is a quarter of his business, and he can do a backyard barbecue for up to 4,000 guests.

“But the same recipes are printed on the same pieces of paper,” Solomon said.

They remain open until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and until 2 a.m. every other day. Lunch is served starting at 11:30 daily (noon on Sunday).

Solomon sees Olneyville as a neighborhood in transition with improvements and more money coming in for streetscaping.

Not far from the square, the Rising Sun mill complex has brought some new blood to the area with Icon Café and Cuban Revolution.

Ed and Mary Morabito opened their second Cuban Revolution at 60 Valley St. at The Plant, a mixed-use residential, office and retail space. The industrial design of the space is large and airy with exposed beams, which makes a contrast with the greenery and colorful images that decorate the room on the floor level.

It can seat some 160 patrons, and there is free parking in the adjacent courtyard and across the street. A few tables are outside for al fresco dining. The bar is long and dramatic in stainless steel.

The menu is wide and varied from sandwiches to platters with ahi tuna and roast pork. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner daily starting at 11 a.m. Midnight is closing.

The Icon Café at 166 Valley St. is Janice Martin’s labor of love. It’s her first restaurant, and she opened three years ago.

She first saw the space five years ago and fell in love with the idea that long ago, people drove up to the old building in a horse and buggy. She said mill workers would take their time cards to the beautiful brick building she now occupies and get their day’s duty.

“If these walls could talk,” she said.

Her space, which is open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday, has all the original molding and 80 percent original flooring. Large windows and high ceilings make the space airy and light. Opening is at 6:30 a.m. and closing is 4 p.m. except for Friday, when she stays until 5 p.m. serving fish and chips. Icon serves wine and beer.

Breakfast starts with omelets and ciabatta toast made with her homemade bread and breakfast burritos.

Inventive sandwich choices are offered for lunch, and all entrees come with a pasta salad bar in summer and soup bar in the cold weather.

The United Way recently moved from the East Side to Olneyville, where it is leasing space at the Calendar Mills on Valley Street, bringing more people to the neighborhood to eat, said Martin.

And eat well they will, with all Olneyville Square and its environs have to offer.

gciampa@projo.com