PROVIDENCE – NicoBella's Family Restaurant is closing at the end of this month, swamped by post-pandemic debt after a decade of serving the downtown area.
In a Facebook post on April 11, restaurant owner Daniel Crenca said that the pandemic in particular set off an ongoing financial fallout that the restaurant at 10 Dorrance St. could not overcome.
Before the pandemic hit in 2020, NicoBella's had roughly $90,000 in debt after five years in business. Now, Crenca said the restaurant has $700,000 in debt and cannot pay their landlord. He added that daytime business in the downtown area never picked up once the pandemic social distancing rules were lifted.
"Now, I'm just trying not to file bankruptcy," said Crenca. "We worked so hard, but it still did not work. Should I have quit sooner? I don't know. I believed the city would come back after COVID-19. Even still, I'm not giving up on downtown. I'm not saying I will open another restaurant in downtown, but I'm still looking forward to the next chapter."
NicoBella's will now be joining five other restaurants that have closed up shop in the downtown area since the onset of the pandemic. Tommy's Pizza closed in Oct. 2021, Yoleni's in March 2023, SaladWorks in Oct. 2024, Kin Southern Table + Bar in Jan. 2025, and Res American Bistro closed last month.
Crenca, who previously closed NicoBella's Federal Hill location in 2022, said that the restaurant closings signify a larger issue for most, if not all, downtown eateries.
"It's not just about us closing. It's about us closing with extreme debt," he said. "There is clearly something wrong, much bigger than l. The struggle of small, family-owned businesses is real and is in jeopardy for its survival."
The announced closure comes just weeks after Crenca told Providence Business News that NicoBella's
nearly doubled their business when the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was held at the Amica Mutual Pavilion March 21-23.
He had said that the revenue gained during the tournament built on what NicoBella’s brought in when the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships event – which was won by Johnson & Wales University – was in city the previous weekend.
"March Madness served us well, but it was only one weekend," Crenca said. The restaurant is typically only busy about 30 out of the 52 weekends per year, he added.
The restaurant will remain open for business for breakfast and lunch seven days a week and Friday and Saturday nights, between now and April 27 and will be open for Easter Sunday until 1 p.m., according to Crenca's post.
A farewell celebration is planned at NicoBella's on April 27 from noon to 6 p.m.
Rhode Island Hospitality Association CEO and President Farouk Rajab did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(SUBS 5th paragraph with detail on other restaurant closings; MINOR edits.)
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
