Whether or not the weather will cooperate, summer has arrived.
With as many as 17 of the 23 weekends so far in 2025 featuring rainstorms for at least one day as of June 7, it’s been a bit of a rough start.
One of the weatherproof industries is food service. Restaurants, taverns, bars and ice cream shops are all welcome destinations regardless of the weather.
In Newport, the expectation on restaurant row is for a successful “season,” possibly record-setting. Interest is being driven by new openings around the island, as well as some tweaks and additions to some of the mainstays.
Chomp Kitchen & Drinks opened its latest location at 111 Broadway in Newport, featuring a large bar with a mix of high-top tables and an expansive dining room for small and large parties. Chomp has earned a top-notch reputation not only for its original locations in Warren and Providence but for its signature – and trademarked – burger sauce that has made its way to local supermarket shelves.
The Wayfinder Hotel has found its way back after a devastating fire. Completing its comeback is the new Little Clam, which is self-described as a New England coastal restaurant that celebrates Rhode Island farmers and fisherman. The menu, under the direction of consulting chef Jake Rojas and executive chef Antonio Wormley, will feature local seafood, seasonal produce and artisanal products sourced from nearby waters and farms.
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NEWEST VENTURE: This rendering shows J.T. Commons, the latest project from Newport Restaurant Group. Anchored by an extensive pizza program and a menu celebrating everyday favorites, the Middletown restaurant will offer year-round dining featuring a large bar and casual dining room.
COURTESY NEWPORT RESTAURANT GROUP[/caption]
Newport Restaurant Group announced plans to open its newest venture, J.T. Commons, in the space of its former, and now shuttered, Foodlove Marketplace in Middletown. J.T. Commons is described as the group’s latest experience. Anchored by an exciting and extensive pizza program and a menu that celebrates everyday favorites, J.T. Commons will offer year-round dining featuring a large bar and casual dining room with plenty of space to talk, catch up and watch the game, according to the restaurant group. Private dining will be offered for events large and small, and seasonal al fresco dining will be available on the patio.
Scheduled to open its doors this fall, the restaurant is an homage to legendary Newport businessman J.T. O’Connell, who founded what would become the Newport Restaurant Group.
O’Connell was a significant figure in Newport, known for his business ventures. He led a group of local businessmen in founding the Newport Oil Corp., which would later diversify and evolve into the Newport Restaurant Group. He purchased the original estate of Alexander Agassiz and transformed it into the Castle Hill Inn, one of the group’s showcase venues.
In other Rhode Island restaurant industry news, legislation has been proposed that would allow restaurants to reopen following extreme hardships caused by calamities such as fire. The proposed measure would apply to any licensed food service facility in the state that had to close due to such a setback.
The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, D-Narragansett, in the R.I. House of Representatives and Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski, D-South Kingstown, in the R.I. Senate, reads: “Any time a building or other structure used as a food service establishment, is rendered uninhabitable by virtue of a casualty including, but not limited to, fire or flood… provide temporary outdoor dining services for a period of up to eighteen (18) months” subject to local permits, licenses, and health and safety regulations.
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury,” syndicated weekly on radio, is heard in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Indiana. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
