A former Johnson & Wales University dean and a local real estate developer have joined forces to open a new restaurant in a high-profile spot on Division Street in East Greenwich and launch an ambitious hospitality industry venture.
Eleven Forty Nine opened this week in the space most recently known as Mario’s Bravo. It is the first project by the new Thee JT Food Ventures, a restaurant, hospitality company and consultancy formed by Thomas L. Wright and John G. Picerne.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
Picerne, CEO of Thee JT Food Ventures, is also CEO of Narragansett-based Picerne Military Housing, which builds private housing developments on military bases across the country.
Wright, Thee JT Food Venture’s COO, is formerly a senior vice president of development and dean of the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales. He served for several years as a judge for the famous James Beard annual food competition.
The space the two have taken over, at 1149 Division St., is at a major intersection, right at the spot where the exit off Route 4 comes in, and close to the Showcase Cinemas on Quaker Lane. It has also been home to a string of well-known local eateries. It was once known as Rosebud’s, then became Jason’s and then Paragon before becoming Mario’s Bravo, Wright said.
“It’s a very convenient location, and I think East Greenwich is ready for a casual suburb restaurant that can hopefully perform and deliver at the level that we’re aspiring to,” he said.
To aid in the development of the restaurant and the larger business venture, Picerne and Wright have recruited several veterans of Rhode Island’s hospitality industry.
Rand Robison, formerly general manager of Caf? Nuovo and a former instructor and supervisor of corporate events at Johnson & Wales, is vice president of operations for Thee JT Food Ventures and general manager of Eleven Forty Nine.
The restaurant’s executive chef is Jules Ramos, former executive chef at Mill’s Tavern, Ten Sushi and Prime Steak and Moda Restaurant. Ramos also serves as director of culinary development for Thee JT Food Ventures.
The restaurant’s menu features steaks, seafood, pasta, salads and lower-priced fare such as burgers and pizza. A children’s menu features such items as fruit slices with chocolate dipping sauce and uniquely shaped pasta dishes, Wright said.
Wright and Picerne completely redesigned the 7,400-square-foot restaurant, moving the kitchen and reconfiguring the layout. Design elements include textured walls, leather trim, a bar with 900 tear drop-shaped crystals suspended from the ceiling, and a “luxurious” outdoor terrace and bar featuring a 52-inch flat-panel TV, he said.
The restaurant will be available for private parties on Sundays, and will also provide catering for off-site events.
Eleven Forty Nine is only the first in several projects being undertaken by Thee JT Food Ventures, Wright said. The company, which has just over 80 employees, will develop and operate restaurants, and develop restaurant and dining center concepts and related products for business and industry partners, in Rhode Island and beyond, he said.
Wright said the company is actively looking for opportunities, and he said one project involves a possible restaurant at an out-of-state casino, though he wouldn’t say where.
The business partners, who both live in Narragansett, have been friends for more than two decades, ever since Wright’s wife went to work for Picerne’s real estate development business. The new venture, Wright said, leverages both men’s strengths.
“As it pertains to food service and hospitality, there isn’t anything we can’t bring our resources and expertise to: from nursing homes, to restaurants, to banquet halls, to private clubs,” Wright said.
