Tuesday, October 13, 2026

TOPICS

Something New

GROWING DISTILLERY: White Dog Distilling, incorporated as CAVE LLC, was founded in 2016 by Carlo Catucci, center, and his wife, Alecia, right, who partnered with longtime friends Eric Sylvestre, left, and Vin Greene, not pictured. Their micro-distillery and tasting room opened last April in a historic mill space in Pawtucket and will be moving to a larger retail location within the mill.
 / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

White Dog Distilling expands in former mill

Opening a micro-distillery wasn’t the plan when Carlo Catucci and his wife went on a Rhode Island brewery tour two years ago. But after...
GATHERING PLACE: Anne Holland, left, founder of the What Cheer Writer’s Club, with Jodie Vinson, program manager. Holland started the club because she wanted a place where local writers of all sorts could work, network and collaborate.
 / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

A space for writers to work

Anne Holland was a business journalist working from home when she thought of creating a gathering place for writers of all sorts – journalists,...
STEEL STRAWS: Brooke Finocchiaro is seated at The Nitro Bar in Providence that is owned and operated by her sister Audrey Finocchiaro. After working there for three months and being fed up with how much plastic gets used and then becomes litter, Brooke Finocchiaro started Stop Sucking RI, which sells stainless steel straws. / COURTESY STOP SUCKING RI/ALEX BRENNAN

The last straw in fight vs. plastic litter

After nearly three months working at her older sister’s coffee shop, The Nitro Bar in Providence’s West End, Brooke Finocchiaro was fed up with...
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Touch of honey in the tub

If life gets so busy and scheduled that you only get 20 minutes a day to yourself, make them count. Bubble Bee Soapery, a new...
SPECIALTY STORE: Christine M. Bourget is the owner of The Captain’s Table in North Kingstown, specializing in gifts and specialty foods. Bourget is holding a tray of chocolates, with “Wedding Cake” at the rear and “Birthday Party” upfront.
 / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Unique gifts that span the globe

Christine M. Bourget retired two years ago, after nearly four decades working for an international retailer, but found that early retirement was not for...
FRESH START: Anne Wolfe is the owner of Bear Wallow Books in Providence. The company had been owned by her parents in Indiana but after the death of her father, Wolfe bought her mother out of the company and moved it to Providence. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

New chapter for book publisher

After 40 years in Nashville, Ind., Bear Wallow Books LLC has a new home. The independent wholesale and publishing company, which has 40 cookbooks in...
NEW PATH: Co-owners Kris Waugh, left, and Tamara McKenney worked in technical recruiting before opening Apponaug Brewing at the Pontiac Mills in Warwick. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Apponaug celebrates beer community

Tamara McKenney and Kris Waugh ran a business in technical recruiting before they embarked in another direction. Their new brew pub, Apponaug Brewing Co., opened...
CONTINUING CARE: Modern Eyes owners and optometrists Vincenzo Gianfrancesco and Kellie McMahon worked on the staff of an optometry firm in Bristol County, Mass., before going into business for themselves in Pawtucket and East Providence.
 / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

A vision for healthy eye care

What happens when two young optometrists go into business for themselves? They just might succeed. Vincenzo Gianfrancesco, 28, and Kellie McMahon, 30, are doing exactly...
BETTER CONNECTION: Nick Cardi III, interim executive director, and Jamie Lavoie, director of facilitation, are co-founders of the FastTrek.org Foundation Inc., a website that matches patients and caregivers with clinical medical trials. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Easy tracking of clinical trials

After watching his father undergo diagnosis and treatment for brain cancer, Nick Cardi III wanted to form a better connection between clinical trials, patients...
ENGAGED EDUCATOR: Brian Kampper, a middle school physical education teacher, has created MobileQuest LLC, a business that provides hands-on science, technology, engineering and math programming for after-school and school-break camps.
 / PBN PHOTO/DAVE HANSEN

Helping kids learn by doing

Children are eager to learn, if the lessons engage their curiosity. MobileQuest LLC is aimed at creating hands-on science and technology-inspired programs for children in...
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