Restaurant Row getting crowded in Warren

“We thought Warren was going to become the new Bristol!” explained Joel Cary from behind the bar at his new café, The Square Peg, about why he chose to set up shop in the town. The 40-seat, brunch, lunch and dinner spot is located in the heart of what is becoming a crowded Restaurant Row on Water Street in Warren.
What was already a multiple choice of dining options has become much more so in the area over the past year or two. In Warren, the restaurants that were considered the “new kids,” such as Trafford and Sunnyside, are now the old guard. New places have opened their doors in former restaurant locations and in spaces that once housed other types of retailers.
The Square Peg kept the name of the business that had occupied the storefront at the corner of Water and Miller Streets for many years. It was an antique shop. On the day Cary and his wife, Amy, were visiting potential sites to open a second restaurant – Amy is the proprietor of Amy’s Place on Wickenden Street in Providence – the shop owner at the time had just hung a “going out of business” sign in the window.
The couple saw much potential in the building and purchased it not only for their business but also as a home for themselves and their four children. The restaurant opened the week before Thanksgiving. In a throwback to an old tradition that once was common in New England seaside villages, the family lives over the restaurant.
Heading up Water toward Main Street, less than a block from The Square Peg, is another new restaurant in another historic building. Simply Devine, the mainstay Barrington caterer established by Janet and Peter Devine opened in February in the spot that for many years housed the Nathaniel Porter Inn.
The Devines took an opposite path from many restaurant owners. Typically, restaurateurs open their eateries, then start catering. Peter Devine’s culinary path led him to Newport, where he worked for several years with various caterers before launching the company with his wife in 1998. Janet Devine started her career as a baker working for a local bakery supplying fine desserts for restaurants in Rhode Island and Boston.
The Devines have extensively renovated the venerable inn into an upscale dining space with an interesting contemporary look within the framework of the building’s Federal-style architecture. The bar remains two steps down at the rear of the building, which keeps its colonial-tavern-style coziness. The commissary kitchen for the catering operation occupies the basement of the structure. In Barrington, Billy’s is still considered new to many in town and to visitors from out of town as well. 2012 is actually the third year for the contemporary, fine-dining spot that attracts an interesting mix of locals and visiting celebrities, many of whom come in from the links at the Barrington Country Club. Billy’s food truck launched about a year ago and has developed a following. The Dessels, proprietors, are looking into the possibility of bringing their truck to a wider customer base well outside the state. Stay tuned.
Bristol has its own Restaurant Row, where several of the state’s dining landmarks are located, including Persimmon and DeWolf Tavern, both of which boast nominees for James Beard awards in the chef category. Persimmon’s Champe Speidel, who also owns Persimmon Provisions in Barrington, and Sai Viswanwath, executive chef and proprietor of DeWolf, are among the nominees for Best Chef Northeast. Curiously enough, both are still considered “new” even though they have been part of the scene locally for five years or more. But they too have had to relinquish their youthful visage to a newcomer.
The newest place in town is two or three doors up the hill from Persimmon on State Street. British Beer Company opened its first Rhode Island location in mid-February, in the former location of the Anchor Tavern. Popular in the Boston suburbs and on Cape Cod, the BBC – officially the chain stopped using the initials after a cease-and-desist from the broadcasting company – serves pub fare and an extensive selection of beers, ales, lagers and pilsners from the UK, Ireland and Europe.
Back in Warren, the Carys take a philosophical approach to being part of their town’s Restaurant Row. As Joel Cary put it, “We’re not another big dinner place on the street.” Patrons drop in during the course of the evening from Trafford or across Miller Street at Stella Blues for dessert or a nightcap. Cary thinks this brings the neighborhood closer together and in another example of “the rising tide lifts all boats” adage, actually is beneficial for all the businesses on the street. “Amy and I really believe, the more the merrier!” •


Bruce Newbury’s food and wine talk radio show is heard Saturdays and
Sundays locally on WPRV-AM 790, on radio throughout New England and on the Stitcher mobile application. He can
be reached by email at
bruce@brucenewbury.com.

No posts to display