David Dadekian, the founder and owner of Eat Drink Rhode Island, is now organizing another food-focused venture, the West Park Food Hall in the Smith Hill neighborhood of Providence. The identified location is a former print business, at 233 West Park St., that is owned by a Boston-based developer. A crowdfunding campaign for the food hall venture recently met its predevelopment goals. Dadekian spoke to the Providence Business News about the property and its appeal.
PBN: How did you find this property and why did it attract you as a location for the venture?
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DADEKIAN: The owner of the property came to us. He bought the property … in 2016. And he wasn’t sure what to do with it. This past May or June we started to poke around in the Providence area with an interest in doing something food-related. And he connected with an architect who knows us. So, he came to us and that’s where it all started.
PBN: This will be a leased facility?
DADEKIAN: We will be the master tenant … on the 233 building. We’re not leasing the [adjoining] 235 building.
PBN: What will your Kickstarter money allow you to do?
DADEKIAN: [It will provide] capital for a loan. We’ve hired Union Studio architects to do our drawings. They’ve started working on the project. And a part of the Kickstarter funds will go to legal. We have to draw up our agreements with the owner and also potential tenants. They’ll either be subleases, or a mix of leases and license agreements.
PBN: Who are some of the food and drink tenants?
DADEKIAN: We haven’t signed anything yet. But we have strong interest from Gotta Q [Smokehouse] BBQ and New Harvest Coffee. We’ve had good conversations with folks.
PBN: What is the timeline?
DADEKIAN: The building itself … needs a new roof and windows. The owner will be doing that. We can’t do a whole lot before that’s done. Depending on how mild or tough the winter is, we’ll start that as soon as we can get moving.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
