It is a growing economic tsunami. Restaurants in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts are closing by the day. In the past week alone, some of the best-known restaurants in the area have announced their closure or that they are for sale.
The announcement of restaurants closing started in right after Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo closed down much of the state on March 16 under her emergency powers -- including restaurants. By March 25, Bravo Bistro in downtown Providence was among the first to announced it would close permanently.
It was the first significant restaurant to announce it was closing. It was quickly followed by Nick’s of Westminster and then the dominos started to fall.
Bravo Bistro’s owners Joseph Martone and Kristen Destremps announced they were launching a GoFundMe account to support their staff.
Places like Bravo Bistro and Nick's on Westminster, which closed after just a year of operation, were the first wave. They were businesses who were struggling before the coronavirus, and the closures and lack of business support programs at the state or federal level devastated their businesses.
SEE BELOW: WELL-KNOWN RESTAURANTS THAT HAVE CLOSED
Dozens of restaurants across the state have since closed. The economic impact of the closures and downturn can be felt at fine dining like the award-winning Birch located downtown and is located just across from Trinity Rep. With Trinity, the Providence Performing Arts Center, and other smaller cultural venues closed for months, the future of many restaurants is in question.
Chris Tarro, the owner of the restaurant group Siena which operates three locations in Rhode Island — two are presently operating — took to social media this week to address the latest closures and posted:
Venus De Milo. Closing.
Birch. Closing.
Blackies. Closed.
Old Grist Mill. For Sale.
etc.etc.etc.
The type of restaurant doesn't matter. Nothing is safe.
Siena will survive but this is depressing. These are not poorly run businesses with bad food!
Two Impacts - Economic and Shared Experience
For the economy, the impact is devastating. More than 50,000 Rhode Islanders work in the hospitality industry. The restaurants are closing, the owners are losing their life's work and as a community, the state is losing those places that embody shared experiences. Presently, 100,000 Rhode Islanders are out of work and the majority of them worked in hospitality and retail -- another sector being hard hit.
“This is not an isolated incident, we will see a number of restaurants and small businesses close throughout the remainder of this year, and with them, we lose a meaningful part of the character and friendliness of this state,” said Professor Leonard Lardaro of the University of Rhode Island. “In other words, the loss to this state will by far exceed the pure monetary values involved.”
For those restaurants and other businesses that have been impacted but not closed the state has established a $50 million grant program. The Restore RI fund, which was announced on July 15, has to date provided $7 million in grants, with much of it targeted to the hospitality industry.
For many restaurants, the summer's outdoor dining has allowed them to "keep the lights" on by serving more than 50% of their customers. But as the summer turns to fall, restaurants will be faced with the loss of the revenue of much of its outdoor dining and resort to limited indoor seating and takeout.
The most difficult period is yet to come.
Related Slideshow: Restaurants Lost to Coronavirus - Sept, 2020
The popular establishment said it was another early victim of the virus.
The owners announced in May:
Sadly, we are announcing that due to the unfortunate COVID -19 crisis, the owners of Eleven Forty-Nine Restaurant have made the difficult decision to close permanently.
It has been our sincere honor to serve our patrons for the last thirteen years, we have enjoyed sharing so many special occasions and life events with you.
The owners and management thank you and appreciate your patronage.
We wish to give a special thank you to all our staff members who have worked so hard throughout the years, you have made us proud and served with care!
The downtown Providence restaurant was the first to announce its closure, citing coronavirus as the reason in March.
Owners Joseph Martone and Kristen Destremps started a "Bravo Staff Relief Fund" on GoFundMe.
Restaurant Statement:
"It is with a heavy heart and much sadness that we have to announce the terrible news that Bravo Bistro will not be reopening our doors due to the Coved-19 virus. Even after the effects of this devastating virus ends, Bravo will remain closed. We as the Bravo family thought losing our owner, mentor and dear friend Fred Goodwin to his battle with cancer would be the hardest obstacle we would have to face as a family.
Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of our control, we are unable to keep our doors open to all of our dear friends and loyal supporters over the years. We have spent birthdays together. We have celebrated holidays together. We have enjoyed many Super Bowls together. We have mourned together. We have also raised MANY a glass together. We will get through this difficult time together as well. When this storm lifts the staff will no longer have a home to return to.
A relatively new addition to Providence, opening in September 2019 at the site of the former Cable Car Cinema, closed in the spring of 2020.
The company posted the following to social media.
To All of Our Loyal Customers:
With a heavy heart, we write to let you know that due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis we will not be reopening our cafe & microcinema in Providence.
We want to thank everyone who contributed to make our nearly 7 months in Providence a truly magical experience through which we not only learned a great deal but also made many new friends.
While we will no longer have a brick-and-mortar location in Providence, our hearts will remain with the people there and we will continue to roast the world’s finest coffees available through online store at our roastery and tasting room in Worcester.
The owners of the Greenville Inn announced the restaurant would be closing in June, after owning the family dining establishment for 23 years.
Message to Community
"Twenty-three years ago, the Belknap family purchased the Greenville Inn. During this time, we watched our family grow alongside our customers’ families, as we helped them celebrate numerous holidays and special occasions. We got to know most of our customers by name and they truly became our extended family.
During the COVID-19 shut down, we had three months to reflect on the years that have passed and what the future holds for our family. We have realized that you cannot take anything for granted and we want to spend as much time as we can with our family. Therefore, it is with heavy hearts that we have decided that it is time to retire and close the Inn.
We want to sincerely thank all of our loyal customers, friends, and family that have supported us over the years and all of our wonderful employees that have helped make our business successful. We will miss all of you more than you know.
On to our next chapter in life: family time, fishing and ocean views.
As GoLocal first reported on Tuesday, Birch is closing in downtown Providence.
In 2014, Birch -- located across from Trinity Rep -- was one of Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants in America.
Now, with coronavirus -- and Trinity announcing there will be no in-person A Christmas Carol, a blow to all surrounding businesses in the area -- Birch is closing.
Birch Message to Customers:
To Our Friends, Family and Supporters,
On October 19th, 2020–seven and half years since its opening–birch will be serving its last meal. Ten years was always this unofficial timeline I had in my mind for birch. To say that this small, 18-seat restaurant didn't exceed my own lofty expectations just because it didn't hit that milestone would be selling it all incredibly short. Birch didn't need ten years to accomplish what it did.
Opening birch, I got to cook at a level above any of the opportunities I had prior while Heidi kept us all organized and on a straight path as we navigated the nuances of operating one then two restaurants. Looking back on birch's time as a whole, I am proud of what we were able to achieve and am so sad to see it end, if for nothing else not being able to come to work with teams at birch. The individuals that came through these doors and worked their asses off are the reason why birch overachieved every single night. Birch is closing with grace, humility and beauty because of them. These people are the finest cooks, hospitality professionals, educators, mentors and students I have ever known and worked alongside.
I want to explain birch's closing more. Once the weather cools (it is still perfectly warm out, y'all) and outdoor dining dwindles, birch can not survive another shift. Eating indoors is a scary, last-resort situation. A lot of business owners are being forced to decide to place value towards making a dollar or ensuring public health and safety standards during a pandemic. The combination of Covid-19 and HVAC is like introducing malaria to the mosquito. This is my choice and I don't fault anyone else during these times who must continue to choose. The moral gray area we are wading through should have been far less dire if at any point this virus had been met with precaution, economic relief, heeding scientific advice and consistent leadership.
I'm lucky that I still have Oberlin and its team. I’ve exercised my demons at birch which has helped me look past my ego and learn to trust those around me. I have new goals and new challenges that I need to get to and closing birch is part of this process.
In August, the owners took to Facebook to announced their decision -- and how they came to it.
In their message, they said they hope to come back in the future.
Blackie's Announcement
"On December 1, 2011, Angie & I purchased Blackie’s Bulldog Tavern. We had no staff and no customer base. What we did have, however, was passion, dedication and belief in one another and the business we could build together.
On August 30, 2020, just under 9 years later, we have an amazing team, a tremendous family of guests and the same passion, dedication and belief in one another and our business. We have been supported and loved by our families and friends and are very blessed.
One year into our new dream location, we are dealing with an unseen enemy known as COVID-19.
It is with heavy hearts and tears in our eyes we announce the closing of blackie’s.
We did our best to serve our blackie’s family safely and with the same level of attention and care as always, but due to COVID restrictions, it has become impossible to maintain the levels we pride ourselves on and remain profitable. We are going to take a deep breath, sit back and wait until it is more feasible to operate to our standards.
Our team has remained positive even as they faced such difficult working conditions. They have persevered, and we couldn’t be prouder of them. Our blackie’s family has fought as hard as they could to overcome the obstacles COVID has placed in our path. The virus may have won the battle, but blackie’s will be back to win the war.
To our blackie’s regulars, you cannot imagine the immense sadness we felt welcoming you in these past few days and knowing we would not be seeing you again next week. We wanted to hug you. We wanted to thank you for your continued support and belief in us. We couldn’t. We are sorry. We can, however, reassure you that we will be back and when we return it will still be the quality and creativity you have enjoyed with us all of these years ... done with the love and appreciation we have for each and every one of you.
The virus can take a lot of things away from us, but it can’t take our reputation, our heart or our love for this crazy industry. Our dreams were destroyed, but our spirits are not broken.
We are asking for your support and understanding during this incredibly difficult time for our team and selves.
We can’t wait to welcome you back with open arms in our next chapter."
Now, the Venus de Milo is for sale for an asking price of $4.75 million.
According to the property’s history, “Originally founded in 1959 by Monsour Ferris, Venus de Milo has stood the test of time.
Transforming from a local bowling alley into a multi-faceted venue, which features both a well-appointed banquet facility and an award-winning restaurant, 'The Venus,' as she is known by the locals, has hosted countless weddings, celebrations, corporate events, galas and fundraisers.
Monsour Ferris built his business on quality, value and a commitment to service; a commitment that extended from the restaurant to the community, building a legacy of civic, educational and charity involvement that continued through his sons, Ronald and Monte."
For over 60 years this venue was known for being the region's largest event, wedding and banquet facility.
After 21years the Cranston restaurant closed citing the coronavirus.
"Spirito’s Restaurant is sad to announce that Sunday November 22, 2020 was our last day of business.
Spirito’s would like to thank all their costumers, employees past and present and vendors for their support over the last 21 years.
Due to the covid crises along with the restrictions the governor made we tried our best to navigate through the epidemic," they posted to Facebook.
One of Rhode Island’s top chefs, Eli Dunn, owner of Eli’s Kitchen in Warren, announced Saturday, December 26, that he is closing the restaurant.
Dunn, who won the Food Network show “Chopped” in 2018, said that one of his top chefs is going to be taking over the restaurant space on Market Street under a new name in the new year.
WATCH: “Chopped" Winner Dunn Recaps His Victory on GoLocal LIVE
As for Dunn, who grew up in the kitchen with his mother at Phoebe’s in Seekonk, he says he plans to keep cooking — and to stay tuned.
Closing Announcement
Dunn announced the following on Saturday.
“I know many of you have been wondering what the future for Eli’s Kitchen holds,” said Dunn.
“As you know over the last several months, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to source responsibly, cook with love, and share with others in a new and exciting way, through micro-catering, private chef events, and most recently, virtual cooking classes," he said. "I’ve been able to be of service outside of four physical walls, and it’s been a game-changer for me.”
“So to continue with this new momentum, I’m making the extremely difficult decision to close Eli’s Kitchen,” said Dunn. "My restaurant has had great success over the years and I’ve personally loved to be able to cook for each and every one of you.”
Dunn said that his chef Sam and partner Joanna are taking over the location and launching their own restaurant in the next few months.
“I know I’m leaving this space in good hands and even though it will have a different name, a different menu, Sam and Joanna are committed to caring on the legacy of good old southern hospitality of Eli’s Kitchen,” said Dunn.
Dunn told customers he has big plans for the new year.
“I can’t wait to cook for you again in 2021,” he said.
