Ronni’s Restaurant founder dies at 79. Gilles Rainville made Buffalo wings a Forsyth County staple

“I remember when someone from Garner Foods came in because they couldn’t understand why we were ordering so much Texas Pete,” Rainville-Nouchi said. “My dad showed them what he was doing, and how he made his wings, and for a while they put his wings recipe on the back of their big bottle.”

Though the restaurant continues to sell pizza and sandwiches, it is known mainly for its wings. Ronni’s popularity prompted Rainville to open restaurants in Kernersville, Mount Airy and Winston-Salem, all with different partners.

In 2000, Rainville found out he had prostate cancer. By 2005, he also had colon cancer. At that point, he started closing his other restaurants to concentrate on the Clemmons location, and to slowly step away from the day-to-day operations.

“The colon cancer was kept at bay for about 10 years,” Rainville-Nouchi said. “But then it spread and it got in his lungs.”

Rainville-Nouchi has been the general manager and co-owner of Ronni’s for the past few years. She runs the restaurant with her husband, Warren Nouchi, and managers Julie Brandon and Julie Taddeucci.

The restaurant will continue, she said, after a one-day closing June 7 in honor of her father.

Rainville-Nouchi said that her father was always a hard-working man who, first and foremost, took care of his family. He also loved hockey, crime novels and family trips to the beach.