Two years after opening his first Ocean State Sandwich Company in Johnston, Eric Handwerger has brought his popular soup, salad and sandwich restaurant to downtown Providence.
“It took a while for our Johnston location to catch on,” says Eric. “In a sense it was a hard sell, asking people to pay a bit more for our fresh, locally sourced ingredients than what was typical at the chain sandwich shops in the area. But over time we’ve built a faithful following of regulars who come in several times a week.
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“But what really got the ball rolling for us was the reception we received when we decided to broaden the scope of our business by offering catered lunches to the many professional and investment firms and to the non-profits in nearby Providence. Today we’re thrilled to have become a resource for over thirty of these organizations, and feeding them has become a mainstay of our business.”
About a year ago Eric decided that putting a shop right in the heart of the downtown Providence would be the logical next step in the growth of his business, the hope being to attract not only the larger firms in the downtown area, but likewise the smaller companies, the retailers, students, and the burgeoning university and medical communities. So he started looking for a site and eventually found that Amenities Deli, a long-time staple of the downtown, was being offered for sale.
“I loved the location: a lot of built-in traffic in the building itself (The Westminster Square Building, a/k/a/ by many as 10 Dorrance). So I made an offer which was accepted – that was back in July – and then decided to do a complete renovation of the space.
“That process began in August, and last week, on Wednesday, February 18, dodging snowstorms, we opened. Quietly.
“So far, so good. We’ve been very busy and we’re getting very positive feedback. Already, people who’ve been coming in for breakfast and lunch are inquiring about our catering division, and we’ve booked breakfast meetings and luncheons with three new companies in our first week. It’s really exciting and encouraging.
“Since this is a business publication, I’d like to thank a few of the businesses who helped us build what I hope you’ll all agree is a very attractive shop, starting with the folks at LDL Studio, the architectural design firm who developed the design for the space. Thank you Glenn LePore. And special thanks to Justin Dufresne, who was the project manager, and a real wizard with a pen or pencil when we needed to re-think elements of the space on the fly.
“Thanks also to Summit Construction Management, the general contractor on the job who bent and flexed with us throughout the process. And to the two companies responsible for the floor in the restaurant, to Sam Sacks of Duraflex and Leigh Augustine from N.Y Flooring. No mean feat, pouring a two-color floor that depicts the map of Rhode Island.
And last but certainly not least, let me say that I will forever buy my stone counters from Frank Faiola of Creative Stone Countertops in Pawtucket and have all my millwork done by Ed Fargnoli. Ed’s passion for his work is total, and it’s been a complete joy to work with him.
“So here we are,” Eric concludes, “opening a new business with the help of a lot of great people, and looking forward to serving up some great food to an audience of Rhode Islanders who really know and love good food.”
