Saturday, August 15, 2026

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GOT ­SOMETHING COOKING: 
Lisa Raiola, founder and president of Hope & Main, stands among some of the kitchen equipment that will be put to use at the yet-to-be-completed new food business incubator, West End Kitchens, in Providence. It is set to open around June. 
PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

Demand only heating up for kitchen facilities

Often noted as “the smallest town in the smallest county in the smallest state,” Warren boasts the highest number of food processing licenses in...
MAKING AN IMPRESSION: Jennifer Curtin, general manager of The Beatrice on Westminster Street in Providence, stands in the hotel lobby, which is unlike anything guests would see in a traditional chain hotel. 
PBN PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

Boutique hotels showing more room for growth

At Providence’s The Beatrice, travelers aren’t just booking a room. They’re booking a vibe. That’s according to Jennifer Curtin, the general manager of the...
TEST SUBJECT: Justin Sirotin, left, co-founder of Octo Product Development Inc., shows U.S. Sen. Jack Reed a mockup of a cockpit used by Regent Craft Inc. at Octo’s design lab in Providence. Regent is developing 12-passenger seagliders at its North Kingstown headquarters. 
COURTESY OCTO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT INC.

Rhode Island driving innovation by turning tech into product

Inside Octo Product Development Inc.’s Providence design lab, designers are busy building early versions of technologies that could reshape maritime travel, from all-electric seagliders...
REVEALING INVENTION: University of Rhode Island associate professor Claudia Fallini, right, and postdoctoral fellow Riccardo Sirtori display a small, low-cost device they helped develop at URI’s South Kingstown campus to study the long-term degenerative effects of traumatic brain injury. 
PBN PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

URI researchers build low-cost device to reveal hidden damage from brain...

Traumatic brain injuries are far more common than many realize. Globally, more than 65 million people suffer such trauma each year, University of Rhode...
GAME CHANGER: Nicholas Brownell, branch manager for Total Mortgage Service LLC in Newport, says in addition to a lower monthly payment for homeowners, affordable payment structures, such as a 50-year mortgage, could expedite home sales and benefit investors with improved cash flow management over a longer period.
PBN PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

Would 50-year mortgages ease affordability crisis?

The Trump administration has floated the idea of a 50-year mortgage as a way to make homes more affordable at a time of skyrocketing...
BIGGER BALANCES: Michelle and Frederick “Rick” Harkins, of Harkins Wealth Management LLC, have heard concerns from clients about their use of credit cards to make ends meet. 
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

As credit card debt climbs, so does the financial pain

From young professionals to near retirees, many Rhode Islanders are struggling with rising credit card debt, financial advisers say. Some clients are delaying major life...
Steve Callahan Jr.

This is one big opportunity for affordable housing

The shortage of affordable housing in Rhode Island and the South Coast region of Massachusetts is a challenge that lawmakers, businesses and state agencies...
PLAYING NOW: Alex Whitney is director of operations at Jane Pickens Theater in Newport, a location that first started showing films in the 1920s and continues to operate in part because of the mix of events that take place there, such as a recent “Remembering Robert Redford” film series. 
PBN PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

At small local theaters, the plot still thickens

For almost as long as the concept of a modern movie theater has existed, Jane Pickens Theater LLC has been drawing filmgoers. “Someone’s been showing...
DEALING WITH IT: Gregory Stevens, owner and operator of Pat’s Italian Restaurants, says market forces have driven wages higher at his eateries in recent years, so the Rhode Island minimum wage hike going into effect on Jan. 1 will have a limited impact on his business. 
PBN PHOTO/­MICHAEL SALERNO

New minimum wage has some bracing for impact

Gregory Stevens, owner and operator of Pat’s Italian Restaurants, remembers only a few years back when he paid his line cooks $15 an hour. “And...
DISHING IT OUT: Brian O’Donnell, standing right, partner and chef at Giusto PVD at Track 15 in Providence, leads a pop-up cooking class at Track 15 earlier this year. Jan Dane, standing left, owner of Stock Culinary Goods, acts as moderator. Another series of pop-up cooking classes at Track 15 has been scheduled for February and March. The series, called Station Tastings, is a partnership of Track 15, Stock Culinary Goods and PopUp Rhody, a service for listing, sharing and discovering pop-up events and temporary retail spaces for independent businesses. / 
COURTESY POPUP RHODY

Providence proves to be suited for pop-ups

Providence, with its compact commercial corridors and small retail bays, has proved to be a prime area for pop-up stores, giving local entrepreneurs a...
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