After spending a recent morning in a futile chase attempting to get in touch with a food-truck operator who could only be contacted by text or tweet, I was getting the feeling that the world was moving in a direction away from me. Being a member of the over-40 crowd, this was most perplexing. After all, we were supposed to be the generation which would not be ignored or denied.
No one ever said anything about getting passed by, however.
Just then, I had the great pleasure of discovering a new restaurant that wants me to be its customer. Bar Louie is coming to Providence and despite its name, it is not looking for the college crowd. Opening in late November next to Capital Grille on Exchange Terrace, the Restaurant Row downtown in the Union Station complex – using the Rhode Island GPS, it’s where Raphael and more recently Ardeo used to be – this will be the gastropub chain’s second New England location. The other one is located in Patriot Place in Foxborough, Mass.
Self-described as a “casually cool neighborhood restaurant,” Bar Louie started 21 years ago in Chicago. Amanda Resten, New England marketing manager, describes the menu as American-style with “a little of everything” from tilapia to burgers. There is a section of the menu devoted to sandwiches which are oversized and large enough for a meal.
In contrast to those big sandwiches, so-called small plates have been a growth section of the company’s menus for some time. Marc Wuenschel, Bar Louie’s vice president of culinary, told the Nation’s Restaurant News that small plates such as chicken nachos with spicy cheese sauce, Bavarian pretzel sticks with cinnamon butter, queso and honey mustard sauce and adobo shrimp skewers account for nearly one-third of the chain’s overall food business. Another signature is a menu of specialty cocktails featuring 12 drinks that range in price from $7 to $10. These drinks are on the leading edge with concoctions featuring eclectic spirits, such as elderflower liqueur. The company touted an award its cocktail menu recently won in competition with libations from 24 countries.
Resten says New England in general is important to Bar Louie as a target market for expansion. She says Providence in particular means a lot to the company, which chose to move into Rhode Island even before scouting out locations in the Boston area.
The reasons reinforce the restaurant chain’s philosophy of appealing to a grown-up crowd. Boston has an outsized college population which is not Bar Louie’s primary target consumer. The chain does have plans to expand in New England, including Boston, in the next few years.
The kitchen remains open until the restaurant’s closing time at 2 a.m. on weekends – which would seem to separate it from the nightclub business model. The new address’ proximity to WaterFire was also attractive to the company.
Another appealing aspect to the gastropub chain is Providence’s burgeoning arts community. The Providence Bar Louie is inviting all local artists to submit a painted piece for consideration in a local art contest. Artists are being asked to submit their own colorful interpretation that creatively captures the essence of Providence.
All pieces will be judged by Bar Louie, and the winning piece will be digitally scaled to fit on a showcased wall of the brand new Bar Louie. The winner will be awarded a $500 cash prize for his or her creative contribution. The local artist’s masterpiece will be immortalized on the walls of the Providence Bar Louie for years to come. Works may be painted using oil or acrylic paint and may be done on the artist’s choice of material.
Anytime a vacant restaurant space in town becomes operational it is positive news. The fact that the new occupant chose our area for all the right reasons makes it even more so. Bar Louie has a good reputation and appears to be a favorable match for the demographics in the area.
The menu and approach fit the neighborhood and the patterns of success that recent area restaurant openings such as Harry’s and Fat Belly’s have had. The fact that Bar Louie has a chain structure adds a vital security blanket to help the fledgling location find its way after the grand-opening excitement subsides.
It is an undeniable truth in the restaurant business that opening next to eateries with similar menus and price points is good for the new place as well as the old. Nothing succeeds like success. •
Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” food and wine talk radio show is heard Saturdays and Sundays on WPRV-AM 790 and stations throughout New England. He can be reached by email at
bruce@brucenewbury.com.
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