Between the atmosphere, the meatloaf and the Sex in the Downcity martinis, customers found a lot to adore about Downcity Food and Cocktails, and a lot to miss when a kitchen fire claimed the beloved Weybosset Street restaurant last May.
But the Downcity is not gone for good. Owners Abby Cabral and Rico Conforti have found a new space nearby, and they are aiming for a mid-June opening.
“This has been the most challenging time in my life,” Cabral said. “It was heartbreaking to watch our place burn down, and we just felt terrible for the employees and everyone who loved Downcity. But the next day, Rico and I pounded the pavement looking for a new place.”
They looked for seven months, hoping to stay near the Providence Performing Arts Center and downtown, but running out of places to look.
“People suggested going to the Hill, but our name alone kept us downtown,” she said. “This space was a last-ditch effort. A friend recommended it, and I didn’t even know it was available, but it was one of those things that when you see it, you know. I said ‘This is it. I don’t care what we have to do to make it work – we will.’ ”
The new space, at 50 Weybosset St., diagonally across from The Arcade, is in an 1856 building with exposed brick, hardwood floors, 16-foot ceilings, large windows, cathedral columns in the center and a mezzanine running along the left side.
“I looked at 10 spaces until I found this space in November. It has all the characteristics of an old, beautiful Providence building, and it’s so close that you can literally see where the old building was,” Cabral said.
The new building is also bigger than their 150 Weybosset St. location. At 2,500 square feet, up from 2,200 square feet at the former location, Cabral and Conforti will be able to nearly double the seating at the bar to 18, and increase the overall capacity from 85 to 108.
The restaurant, formerly known as Downcity Diner, has been around since 1990 and was already an established and treasured staple in the city when Cabral and Conforti purchased it in 2005 from Anthony Salemme and Paul Shire.
But since the fire, the restaurant’s customers, who were as eclectic as the menu, have been “orphaned,” as one regular put it.
“Me and Rico can’t go into Providence without someone asking us, ‘When are you opening?’ ” Cabral said.
Steve Beadling, who works downtown at Bank of America, was introduced to the spot 12 years ago when he moved to Rhode Island and said that he is eagerly anticipating its return.
“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “I spent so many birthdays there and had so many good memories in the restaurant. I can’t wait for them to open.”
“The opening is going to be crazy,” Cabral said. “And we can’t wait to get back into it again. We just loved it.”
Cabral added that although it’s a new space, she and Conforti are striving to retain what they and their customers loved about Downcity for so many years. This will include the menu, which will keep the classics such as the crab cakes, meatloaf and calamari, but still change seasonally; the Sunday brunch, which will be expanded; the late-night menu, the hours and many of the old employees.
“I want to reassure customers that the only thing that’s changing is our location,” Cabral said. “What people loved about Downcity is the food and the atmosphere, and we’re trying to make it welcoming for the customers Downcity has had for 15 years. But we also, hopefully, want to get new customers who have not met us before.”
