Ahead of demonstrations, Providence business owners prepare for the worst

PROVIDENCE – After weeks of silence, downtown buzzed with noise on Friday.

Drills roared, ladders clattered and the scent of wood swept down the streets as business owners and construction crews prepared for the possibility of weekend violence and looting.

While state and city officials have repeatedly said that Friday afternoon’s demonstrations protesting the death of George Floyd are expected to be peaceful, with law enforcement at the ready should things go south, business owners were not taking any chances.

Drill in hand and an array of tools strapped to his waist, Bob Burke, owner of Pot Au Feu, positioned thick slabs of plywood over the downtown restaurant’s glass windows and doors.

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Asked if he was nervous about potential destruction to his business, an institution that has weathered decades of political unrest and natural disasters, and even a dumpster fire that damaged the restaurant in April, Burke said no.

“I never get nervous,” he said. “I am prepared.”

 The decision to board up the restaurant, which would also not open for its regular takeout dinner service, was simple – a $500 investment in plywood versus the $25,000 cost of broken glass, Burke said. 

But the long-term loss from continued violence, or just the perception of it, could be far more costly.

Recalling the riots and civil unrest of the 1960s, Burke said it took decades and a “massive effort” of tourism and marketing to lure people back to Providence. 

“If we lose that trust again, it’s going to take a long time to come back,” he said. 

While Pot Au Feu was spared from the downtown destruction earlier in the week, Pizza Queen on Weybosset Street had not been so lucky. Owner Moussa Havchi described broken windows, a damaged computer and trash strewn across the floor when he came in Tuesday morning.

Rather than risk a second round of damage, Havchi had the storefront encased in plywood, though it remained open for takeout and delivery as planned on Friday.

Whether it was fear of unrest, the floor-to-ceiling plywood coverings or simply the fact that offices in downtown were still largely closed, business was slow, Havchi said. But he refrained from voicing frustration that the crime wave was piling on to economic difficulties posed by the pandemic.

“It’s something beyond our control,” he said with a shrug.

Daniel Willis, marketing director at Yoleni’s on Westminster Street, was less restrained.

“No one here is a McDonald’s with 500 franchise locations,” he said. “We are all small mom and pop shops. This is our livelihood and we don’t want to see it destroyed in one night.”

Though Yoleni’s was also spared damage from earlier riots, the restaurant owners were taking precautions – boarding up windows and planning to close early, with the possibility of remaining closed through the weekend, said owner John Philippides.

A few blocks down at Franklin Rogers Ltd., however, it was business as usual – a customer paying at the register and no plans to close over the weekend.

While the formalwear store’s front windows were also covered up, owner Roger Gross framed the precaution more as a way to show solidarity with other merchants than a fear-based decision.

Rather than joining a march, staying open and continuing to offer his company’s services was his way of showing continued support for the city and its people.

“That’s my statement, that’s the best I can do for my community,” he said. 

Amid the sea of wood-covered windows, the still-transparent glass windows at Avery Piano Co. on Weybosset Street stood out. The plywood was going up later in the afternoon, said manager Richard Hundley. The store had also activated security cameras, and was considering whether someone should stay through the night, though Hundley worried that was too dangerous.

“We’re scared, like everybody else,” he said as he surveyed the grand pianos scattered throughout the storeroom – a costly investment vulnerable to destruction.

Like Burke, he worried how the threat of violence might impact a business just beginning to recover from a months-long closure due to COVID-19.

“We’re little Avery’s Piano, not a Macy’s or anything,” he said. “If the big companies are having a difficult time, just think what it’s like for the little guys.”

Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.