Christie’s, the waterfront institution that stopped doing business on Thames Street in Newport last year, is set to reopen as an exclusive yacht facility, restaurant and event space called Forty 1° North.
Dorrance H. Hamilton, the Campbell’s Soup heiress who bought Christie’s last June, and her associates have completely redesigned and rebuilt the marina, which now features concierge service, complimentary wireless Internet access, complimentary laundry facilities and other services, according to Forty 1° North’s Web site. And in the process, the new owners are doing more than replacing a long-standing Newport institution.
Overlooking the marina is The Grill at Forty 1° North, an outdoor restaurant, pavilion and dockside garden offering full lunch and dinner service and featuring grilled meats, seafood and a raw bar. The facility will host live music programs, a wine tasting series and other special events.
Guests will be charged $350 for access to the marina and restaurant facility throughout the summer season, with the fee fully credited to the guest’s food and beverage account at The Grill at Forty 1° North. Weekly guests will be charged $150 and get similar privileges to those that the club’s summer guests receive.
A limited number of guests with yachts up to 36 feet can moor at the marina and use its amenities for the season for $1,200. Transient dockage is available for 30- to 175-foot yachts.
The facility also will be used to host private events such as weddings, rehearsal dinners, cocktail parties and corporate outings, offering onsite catering and event planning services. Onsite parking will be available for an additional fee, according to Forty 1° North’s Web site.
The company declined to comment for this story.
At the same time, Hamilton and her business partners are working to open another restaurant nearby that they plan to give the Christie’s name.
Forty 1° North has obtained the liquor license from the former Il Primo Restaurant and Wine Bar that was located at Brown and Howard Wharf and is transferring it to another waterfront building, said Newport City Clerk Kathleen M. Sylvia.
Christie’s at Forty 1° North, located in the building that housed The Cheeky Monkey until that restaurant closed last fall, is described on the company’s Web site as a casual, family-friendly restaurant with a “retro” atmosphere and both indoor and outdoor seating, serving a traditional café breakfast, as well as lunch and dinner featuring lobster-in-the-rough and steamed clams and shrimp.
“They’re changing the Cheeky Monkey into Christie’s and they’re redoing Christie’s, and there’s tons of changes going on,” said Kathryn Farrington, vice president for marketing and community partnerships at the Newport County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Farrington applauded Hamilton and her partners for bringing new life to the Thames Street retail and dining district.
“It’s a wonderful new addition to the Newport restaurant scene – Forty 1° North and also the opening of Christie’s,” she said.
There has been talk around town that the Crowley family, which sold Christie’s to Hamilton, doesn’t like the plan to use the Christie’s name in a new location and would try to stop it, but restauranteur and state Rep. Paul W. Crowley said that is not true.
“That’s one of those rumors that start,” he said. In reality, he explained, the family sold the business name along with the property, and “to the best of my knowledge,” that was the end of it.
With reports by PBN Researcher Katherine Miosky.
