In 1955, a group of four brothers built a restaurant on a piece of land they bought in Cumberland. They grilled burgers on a special grill of their own design, baked fresh desserts daily and fried fish and chips into a signature menu item.
Chelo’s Steak House was born, kick-starting a family-owned chain that now boasts nine locations in Rhode Island. This year marks the chain’s 50th anniversary.
“We had a line out the door from day one,” said James Chelo, one of the chain’s original owners.
That line of hungry customers prompted the Chelos to open a second location several years later on Newport Avenue in Pawtucket.
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“We grew when we were ready, with the help of capable people,” said Glenn Chelo, one of the four current owners. “There’s pretty stiff competition in the restaurant industry in Rhode Island. We need to make sure we’re ready before we grow.”
The brothers chose a special blend of ground beef when they started the restaurant – one that’s still used today. As the chain continued to grow, the Chelos built a commissary in Warwick, which supplies all nine restaurants with soups, sauces, baked breads and desserts – many that are made using secret family recipes.
“The steak sandwich, burger and fries and fish and chips were the most popular sellers in the beginning,” said Amet Chelo, another of the original owners. All those items remain on today’s menu. A “tender steak sandwich” was listed at 60 cents on the original menu. An extra 10 cents got mushrooms on the sandwich.
Rhode Island Monthly readers have voted Chelo’s in various “best of” categories, including best burger, best bargain dining and best chowder and clam cakes. The seafood chowder regularly wins a “creative chowder” designation in Chowder Hall of Fame voting.
As the restaurant’s popularity grew, the name morphed into Chelo’s Hometown Bar & Grille. The restaurants sprang up in Providence, Wakefield, Warwick and Cranston. And although the name changed, the owners say the attention to quality food and service stays the same.
“Consistency and paying attention to everything every day has helped us be successful,” Glenn Chelo said. Each of the four current owners – Glenn, Gary, Craig and Randy Chelo – is in the restaurants on a daily basis.
Consistency has also kept dozens of employees working for Chelo’s through the years. The owners estimate they have dozens of cooks, bartenders, servers and other employees who have been working for Chelo’s for more than 30 years.
“We have a dishwasher at our Woonsocket restaurant that’s been here 40 years,” Glenn said. “People tend to stick around, and they’re like family. People retire from Chelo’s.”
The chain employs more than 1,000 people from Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
All of the Chelos worked in the restaurants, too. The current owners – sons of the founders – began as dishwashers and worked up to line chefs. Most of them held various jobs through the years and worked as bartenders, servers, bussers.
“You worked your way up,” Randy Chelo said. “I think my least favorite job was unloading the trailer trucks case by case.” Many of the Chelos said their favorite position was working as a cook.
The chain, which is the largest family-owned restaurant chain in the state, has seen significant growth in the past six to 12 months. The Chelo’s at the Waterfront location near Warwick’s Greenwich Bay is now open year-round; a full-service location opened in the Warwick Mall; and Chelo’s Good To-Go opened on Airport Road in Warwick.
The Good To-Go location is the chain’s latest concept, which features drive-through and takeout operations.
“You never even have to get out of the car,” Glenn Chelo said. “That’s a concept we’d like to grow.”
The restaurant has also sponsored countless sports teams through the years and regularly donates to charities in excess of $105,000.
