PROVIDENCE – Just over a year after opening, owners of Rory’s Market and Kitchen announced Monday that they have closed their Providence location.
Owners announced the closing in an Instagram post, citing “personal reasons” as the cause of the Massachusetts-based specialty organic market chain shutting the doors on its Washington Street store.
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“This past year has been filled with love, support, and unforgettable moments and we are so grateful for each and every one of you who made it possible,” the Instagram post reads. “Your loyalty and smiles have warmed our hearts and made this journey in Providence truly special.”
Phone messages left with owner and CEO Rory Eames were not immediately returned Monday afternoon.
The store was dark Monday afternoon, and most of the windows were covered. Through an opening in one window, half-empty shelves could be seen but products remained in refrigerated displays. A sticker on the front door touted Rory’s as a 2023 winner of a Rhode Island Monthly Best of Rhode Island Award.
Rory’s first opened its doors in Rhode Island last September occupying more than 6,000 square feet on the ground floor of the Nightingale Building at 113 Washington St., in between Clemence and Mathewson streets.
Rory’s was founded in 1978 by Darby Ziruk and opened its first location in Dennisport, Mass. In 2019, ownership of the company shifted to Ziruk’s daughter Rory Eames, Providence Business News reported last September.
Along with groceries, Rory’s offerings included organic produce, a juice bar and a variety of prepared foods for takeout. There was also an all-day cafe menu featuring breakfasts, salads, sandwiches and hot bowls, Eames told PBN last September.
The company decided to open a location in downtown Providence, where there has been a lack of grocery stores while more people move into apartments, after conducting a feasibility study of several locations. After conducting the study, Eames previously told PBN she decided to add services like online ordering and delivery.
The company’s connection to the developer, Cornish Associates LP, which owns the Mashpee Commons, which houses a Rory’s in Massachusetts, was another reason for the market’s move to Providence, according to Eames. Cornish owns the Nightingale Building.
(Updated to reflect that the business has already closed.)
What downtown Providence needs is a large full fledged, supermarket with competitive prices. It also needs a mayor and a downtown committee that has the facts on the demographics of the current downtown population and what is a reasonable goal in the future, This would include how that population breaks down by age group, marital status, mix of students vs. non students, retirees, number of rental units versus condo, etc.
I think you are very on point with these suggestions.