WaterFire a dining draw

LIGHTING THE WAY: Nearly two decades since it was created,  WaterFire is still a major draw,  bringing business to downtown  eateries. / COURTESY WATERFIRE
LIGHTING THE WAY: Nearly two decades since it was created, WaterFire is still a major draw, bringing business to downtown eateries. / COURTESY WATERFIRE

Summer in Rhode Island is filled with events, festivals, vacations and the special days that make this season like no other. We are spoiled in the Ocean State by the almost endless opportunities for recreation along, in and on Narragansett Bay. Hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world come to have a taste of what we sometimes take for granted. That includes dining out. Restaurant tables at harbor and beachside are in demand and will be until at least Labor Day.

But what about those tables that don’t have an ocean view?

It will come as no surprise that they are in demand as well. And if that news does come as a surprise, you have a long memory. Once upon a time, before the restaurant boom, Providence was a pretty quiet place in July and August. It was not unusual to find the “Gone Fishin’ ” sign out for weeks at a time from the East Side to Cranston. Chefs, wait staff and bartenders joined the throngs spending the summer in Newport and Narragansett.

Then came the phenomenon called WaterFire. Twenty years ago, the city first lit up on summer nights. And to the amazement of many, the crowds came back from the beach. And they wanted to stay in town and linger over a meal or a drink in the glow of the multisensory experience they had just enjoyed.

- Advertisement -

WaterFire and the downtown restaurant community are joined together so closely it is sometimes hard to tell where one begins and the other leaves off. In the downtown Restaurant Row, the guest stories are part of urban legend.

At Jacky’s Waterplace, one out-of-town visitor wanted to know what time “the fires got turned on,” in determining what time to make a reservation. At Café Nuovo, there have been standing reservations for each night of the fires made months in advance – and that’s good news for the eatery and its wait staff.

“Jonathan” is a waiter at the new Red Fin Crudo on Washington Street. While the seafood-centric eatery has only been around for a few months, Jonathan has been on the other side of the table for the past seven years, including several downtown locations. He says his income literally doubles on a WaterFire Saturday night, netting as much as $1,200. He has worked at some spots in the city away from the attraction and says there is a big difference.

A popular spot such as Los Andes on Chalkstone Avenue, consistently popular among foodies for its unique Bolivian-influenced menu, will have the same crowd on a WaterFire night that it will on most Saturday nights. Similar reports come from Federal Hill and East Side eateries. Back at Red Fin Crudo, proprietor chef Jennifer Behm-Lazzarini, herself the winner of reality TV’s “MasterChef” before relocating from Philadelphia with her husband, chef Julio Lazzarini, noticed an interesting phenomenon on a July WaterFire night.

“Our place was jamming,” she said, noting that not only were the fires lit, but it was the opening weekend of Providence Restaurant Weeks. This “perfect storm” of dining made for a busy night all around town.

The idea of events driving restaurant traffic is not confined to the city. Garden City Center in Cranston has been putting on summer concerts in its gazebo for several years. The merchants have mixed feelings. While there is an increase in visitors for the evening and sales of ice cream, coffee and fast food are fairly brisk, the sit-down restaurants in the area are much like the outlying eateries in the city – consistently busy for a summer evening but not necessarily realizing a dramatic uptick in business for the night.

Whether a world-class unique destination such as WaterFire or a neighborhood concert such as Garden City or South County Commons host on summer evenings, special nights are no longer confined to the beach. n

Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” talk radio show is heard on 920 WHJJ-AM, 1540 WADK-AM and on mobile applications. He can be reached by email at bruce@brucenewbury.com.

No posts to display