Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - October 2, 2020

HOT

Ain't No Stopping This Guy

Veteran Rhode Island chef Welbi Genao is embarking on a new culinary endeavor, after falling victim to the coronavirus crisis.

Genao this week is launching "TrapboxPVD," a Latin-inspired food truck, based on his favorite memories of his mother's Dominican cooking growing up. 

He was working most recently as a prep manager at Blackie's before it closed, and he lost his job. 

"During the pandemic, with a little help of friends and family and working close with my siblings, we had an 'ah-ha' moment and created our new venture 'TrapBoxPVD,' a modernized Latin food truck," he said. 

“I’ve always had a passion and a connection to food. As a youngin’, my mom was a chef, she stayed in the kitchen cooking up some bomb a-s Dominican food. Bistec encebollado, Pollo al horno, Pollo guisado, pollo frito, Chivo, rabo, sancocho and the list goes on. I enjoyed all these meals and now I miss them so much,” he said, of his late mother. 

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HOT

Cam Is the Man

Cam, Cam, Cam

Running.

Throwing.

Leading.

On to Kansas City. 

HOT

Entrepreneur

GoLocal loves a good entrepreneur story.

Give Tom Sweeney credit. In the midst of the Great Recession, he launched Sweeney Real Estate and Appraisal.

Now, 10 years later the company has established itself as one of the top commercial real estate firms in the city.

Perseverance pays off. 

HOT

Andrew Slutsky

This week GoodRx had its IPO, and Providence native Andrew Slutsky, an early GoodRx employee, owns 3.9 million Class A shares worth $199 million. 

Slutsky, 34, serves as the president of GoodRx's consumer business, according to SEC filings.

HOT

PCD Reducing Tuition

The Providence Country Day School Thursday unveiled “The Quest,” a comprehensive plan that redesigns the private school experience, making it more personalized, less expensive, and uniquely geared to prepare students to thrive in the complex world of tomorrow. The initiative is designed to create greater diversity within one of Rhode Island’s most storied prep schools.

Over the decades the once all-boys day school produced a VIP list of attendees from former United States Senators John and Lincoln Chafee to PGA great Billy Andrade to Washington power lawyer Brendan Sullivan, who represented Oliver North before the Iran-Contra hearings.

The school has been transforming and takes now another leap forward with today's announcement.

“At PCD, we see a world that is changing so rapidly, it demands a different kind of education than the traditional prep school model. We are redefining that model, transforming it, and setting a new standard for private education,” said Kevin Folan, head of school. “The Quest empowers students to deeply understand themselves and gain the skills necessary to adapt to an ever-changing economy, environment, and society. It also aligns our costs with our institutional values, which require us to make the PCD experience accessible to as many children as possible. This is the trajectory for PCD to be at the leading edge of independent education by the time our second century of service begins in 2023.”

HOT

Narragansett Brewery PVD

"Lots of work to be done over the coming quarter, but big step forward yesterday. Thank you #Providence Licensing for your approval....won't be long now #HiNeighbor," says Mark Hellendrung, President of Narragansett Beer about his new facility now being developed adjacent to India Point Park.
 

NOT

URI and PC Cancelling Annual Rivalry Game

Sorry boys, but this one doesn't get a free pass.

In a time of misery, a game like this can make a big difference.

Not a good choice. A selfish decision.

NOT

The Debate

Ghastly.

One of the lowest points in American politics.

It seems impossible that these two are our only choices.

Death of Another Iconic Landmark

The oldest bakery on Federal Hill in Providence is closing. 

Veteran chef and restaurant owner Walter Potenza posted Sunday, “Iconic Scialo Bakery on the Hill Closes.”

“With the passing of Lois [one of the owners] recently, the building and the owner have sold to investors,” wrote Potenza, who has owned numerous restaurants and culinary schools on Atwells Avenue. 

Potenza wrote:

Food businesses come and go, sometimes wholly unnoticed. Rhode Island is experiencing the closure of several restaurants and shops for a multitude of reasons. The pandemic certainly did not help, and many of the places already on fragile terrain inevitably collapsed. Every time a business closes in a confined neighborhood, there is a loss of identity, a loss of belonging, and community ritualism.

The closing of Scialo Bakery on 257 Atwells Avenue in Providence ends a magnificent chapter of the Italian settlement's culinary rainbow. After 104 years, the famous landmark turns the brick ovens off. When Luigi Scialo landed in Providence (1916), from Pomigliano d'Arco near the city of Naples, he probably never envisioned that its Art Deco storefront would become a local and national icon in the baking landscape.

NOT

Brad Stevens

In the last few minutes of game 6 against the Miami when the game was still competitive, the Heat drove to the basket five straight times and the Celts hoisted five consecutive three-pointers and missed them all.

Not a lot of coaching there. It is time for a change.