What's coming to RI's dining scene in 2024? 10 restaurants to keep an eye out for
Rhode Island's vibrant dining scene will continue to bloom in 2024 with the opening of new restaurants, bakeries, breweries, cafes and Providence's first food hall. The year is young, but many places are in assorted stages of construction or simply in the works.
Will the pace of openings keep up with what we saw in 2022 and 2023? It's too soon to know. Still, we do have some confirmations.
The first new restaurant of the year, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, opened in Johnston on Jan. 17, the first for the chain in Rhode Island.
Track 15, the first Providence food hall from Marsella Development Corporation, is set to open in late summer in the former Union Station with a lineup of new restaurants. Four are from Providence, including Dune Brothers, who will have a seafood and raw bar concept. The Meza family, owners of Dolores, will offer regional Mexican cuisine. There will be burgers and sandwiches from the owners of There, There. Moniker Brewery will serve its craft beers. From Newport, chef Kevin O’Donnell, owner of Giusto and Mother Pizzeria, will have two Italian concepts for pasta and more.
We also know this could be the year that new owners take over three busy Providence spots: The Bayberry Beer Hall, PVDonuts and Joe Marzilli’s Old Canteen. All are up for sale.
Some owners have learned the hard way to keep their news quiet so as not to disappoint an awaiting fan base. Other developers talk about restaurants being built as part of their projects but don't necessarily have any signed on yet. The Met, being developed on the former Metacomet Golf Course in East Providence, has said restaurants will be part of the commercial space.
Here's the announced lineup for openings in 2024.
The Rose Room Cafe
The Rose Room will open its second cafe, at 460 Wickenden St. (formerly The Shop) in Providence, perhaps as soon as February. Owners Jess and Bill Sabine have been operating the original restaurant for the last five years in Webster, Massachusetts, and will continue to serve there, too.
"We focus on serving handcrafted and locally sourced breakfast, lunch, baked goods and specialty coffee," said Jess Sabine. Providence will be "a coffee-focused location with all of the same fresh baked and handmade goodies that we offer in Webster."
That includes sweet, savory and vegan scone options as well as cookies and their signature sour cream coffee cake. "We will feature our seasonal veggie frittata, overnight oats, yogurt parfait, and a bagel and cream cheese," she said.
"Our specialty coffee menu features coffee from Atomic Coffee in Peabody, Massachusetts," she said. They have house-made oat milk as a non-dairy option.
The food menu will be smaller than Webster's, but just as mighty, she added.
"We are so excited for this expansion and to meet our new community in Providence. Our focus has always been to foster growth in our communities for creatives, artists, farmers and young folks. We are eager to bring our community-driven mission to a new city!"
Frank & Laurie's
Chef Eric Brown and wife Sarah Watts are the folks behind Thick Neck, the heralded restaurant enjoying a residency at The Dean Hotel in Providence after North closed. But they call it "a trial run."
Since they moved to Providence from Chicago, where they met during the pandemic, they have been in search of a casual breakfast or lunch spot they can reach on a moped ride from the home. When they saw Rebelle, the bagel cafe, leaving the space at 110 Doyle St. in their neighborhood, they knew they'd found the place. They'd just have to create it.
They hope to open Frank & Laurie's sooner rather than later, maybe in early spring. Brown said the space doesn't need much work. They will do some freshening up with paint and put in a proper bar and maybe build a banquette. The kitchen suits their needs.
"We want to become a neighborhood retreat," said Watts, "a place very suited for the breakfast and lunch crowd."
They also want to host all their chef and hospitality friends before they head off to work lunch or dinner shifts, Brown said.
Those who've been to Thick Neck will find a similar concept, in that there will be regular menu items built with items sourced locally. People can rely on that structure. But there will also be a card clipped to the menu with daily specials, like a pastry made with kiwi or house-made sausage.
Fans of Thick Neck have until the end of winter to eat at the restaurant. If you want to get a taste of Frank & Laurie's, try the Thick Neck brunch each Sunday that runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. "You can see Frankie’s on training wheels," said Brown.
The new restaurant is named after Brown's grandparents. He grew up in Wakefield, Massachusetts, and went to Johnson & Wales University. During college, he worked at Gracie's, and after graduation moved to Chicago. There he worked at Michelin-starred restaurant Elske before opening his own pop-up, Pinky Ring. He was named a StarChef in 2022.
Madrid in Barrington
Madrid European Bakery and Patisserie is expanding and will open a second location at 230 County Road in Barrington.
It's been three years since chef Sergio Mendoza, who grew up in his father’s Spanish bakery, and wife Hercilia Corona opened their sweet shop and cafe in Providence's Wayland Square.
Tower Hill Brewing
Four friends who share an enjoyment of visiting breweries and trying new beers joined together to create Tower Hill Brewing in South Kingstown. Soon, their dream will become a reality.
"We are so close we can taste it," said Bob Meyer, who is in the food service business and spoke for the group, which includes Bob Golden, owner of a CPA firm who is their CFO; Brian Hubert, co-owner of an IT company; and Ivan Nazario, a project manager for a naval contractor, who will be the brewer.
"The equipment is being commissioned by the manufacturer next week and then we can start brewing," he said. The taproom is done, minus the bar top and the TVs, sound system and other taproom essentials are in and ready to go.
"Once commissioned, we will brew around a month to build up inventory and then will open, " he said.
The seven-barrel system brewery is conveniently located at South County Commons, where there are plenty of food options to pair with the beer.
watUlike
Mike and Rob Fitzhenry will very soon open their bake shop, named watUlike, at 184 Hillside Ave. in Pawtucket, on the East Side line. Recently relocated from Brooklyn, New York, the couple have built out what was a photo studio.
WatUlike is a homemade bake shop ready for takeout and with a pickup window.
The lineup of items will include cookies, cakes, babkas, scones, muffins, breads, cobblers, focaccias and homemade candy bars. The menu will change but will always start with what they like and what they source with the best ingredients.
They will also be selling their favorite baking ingredients, including sticky toffee pudding sauce and condensed milk spreads in interesting flavors, such as hazelnut and lavender, as well as nut butters. Slice-and-bake cookies will be sold, too.
They will also hold baking classes in the shop. They will be the only employees.
Mike was born in Ukraine and grew up in New York. A singer-songwriter and actor for many years, he has worked at hotels, cafes and restaurants in both New York City and Portland, Oregon.
Rob grew up in Plymouth and has a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University's Charleston, South Carolina, campus. His kitchen credits include New York restaurants Eleven Madison Park, where he worked as sous chef, and the Dominique Ansel Bakery, where he was executive pastry chef.
Follow them on Instagram @watulikeri for news and updates.
Celeste to replace TRIO
Celeste, a new restaurant and coastal European cuisine concept for The Newport Restaurant Group, will replace TRIO Kitchen + Bar at 15 Kingstown Road in Narragansett. Celeste’s menu will feature raw bar offerings including crudo; an expanded pizza menu; shareable small plates; and entrees that evoke the flavors of coastal Italy, France and Spain. No opening date is set.
While the restaurant undergoes cosmetic renovations, TRIO will continue to serve dinner Monday through Friday and lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday through Jan. 28.
“After 15 years, it’s time for a change, and we’re ready to bring something unique to the pier once again with Celeste, an experience that we’re excited to introduce to local residents and visitors alike," said Jeff Tenner, director of Concept Development, Newport Restaurant Group.
Seven Stars in East Greenwich
The sixth Seven Stars Bakery will open this year at 50 Cliff St. in East Greenwich. It will be the third new artisan bakery opened under owners Tracy and Bill Daugherty, who bought the business in 2018.
"We’ve finalized design and have begun construction on a cafe in East Greenwich," said Bill Daugherty. "We love everything about the town, location and building."
"Our goal is for the cafe to feel like it’s been there forever," he said.
The fifth and newest Seven Stars Bakery opened at 103 Point St. in Providence's Jewelry District almost two years ago. Daugherty noted that that cafe "is consistently one of our top two performing cafes, and Cranston [on Reservoir Avenue near Garden City] was our second strongest cafe over Thanksgiving and Christmas."
"Cranston has been so successful that we are actively looking for a second location there," he said.
Suya Joint
Boston restaurant Suya Joint will be opening a second location, at 320 Westminster St. in downtown Providence, serving Nigerian cuisine. Cocktails will also highlight flavors from West Africa.
It will be a spring opening on the ground floor of the Kinsley Building for the restaurant owned by chef Cecelia Lizotte. She started a catering business in the Roslindale area of Boston in 2012 and in 2016 opened her restaurant in the Roxbury neighborhood. She also added a food truck.
Suya Joint’s menu favorites include Jollof rice and beef Suya, a Nigerian meat skewer and the restaurant’s namesake. The entire menu is dairy-free, and much of the food is gluten-free and vegetarian as well. For updates on Suya Joint’s Providence opening, visit their website and follow them on Instagram.
Phantom Farms Brewing
Phantom Farms Brewing will bring new life to Cumberland's historic district in a very short time.
"We are so close!" said said Jay Neveu, general manager of the brewing company. He said they are finalizing some of the last inspections this week, and, barring any surprises, brewing can begin. He said they are kicking around a March grand opening, but they will have better information in the next few weeks.
The brewery is housed in the former steam room at the historic Berkeley Mill at 30 Martin St. The 1872 building was bought by developer Jason Macari a decade ago. Neveu is his son-in-law. It's being repurposed into the brewery with a 10-barrel system.
The website, phantomfarmsbrewing.com, will keep beer lovers up to date on the building and opening.
CHOP
We've been talking about CHOP for a few years now. But the challenge of opening this special restaurant and cafe is that it's in the Providence Public Library, where no kitchen has existed before.
Why is it special? CHOP, Culinary Hub of Providence at the Providence Public Library will be a hybrid – a restaurant and training kitchen. It will be in a first-floor space with 30-foot ceilings carved out of the recent library renovation.
"We are making progress," said Joshua Riazi, Genesis Center culinary director. "We see a late winter opening of the cafe/coffee shop." That will be followed by workshops and culinary training programs.
"The space is getting fit out now with AV equipment for culinary demos, and we are doing R&D on the menu along with key staff hiring," he said.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: New restaurants opening in 2024 in RI from cafes to breweries
