Where do ideas for new restaurants come from? There can be a sense of place, as in Rhode Island seafood or Kansas City barbecue. In our dining-destination state over the last several years, we have had a steakhouse stampede, a “better-burger” boom, martini-bar mania and lately, plant city.
Nick Rabar, a Rhode Island chef and longtime restaurateur and media personality, is heading in his own direction. The originator of the popular eatery and market Avenue N has turned to chicken. He is putting the finishing touches on his new concept Honeybird and is getting ready to open its doors in East Providence.
During a midsummer broadcast of my radio show, Rabar said, “Originally, the menu was going to be a bit more diverse.”
It started during the COVID-19 pandemic. Avenue N was offering plates of fried chicken and macaroni and cheese to people in the food service industry in need. It turned out guests wanted it as well. The chef decided to keep it on the menu as a fried chicken sandwich to capitalize on the trend at the time, which has continued. Every Monday was Fried Chicken Sandwich night, and it became wildly popular at both Avenue N locations in East Providence and in Providence.
Wings were added to the menu, as were tenders, a variety of sauces, pickles and fixings. Authentic Southern sides such as hush puppies, fried okra, and shrimp and grits also began appearing. And so did the customers, in droves.
The Rabars freely admit that the Southern-influenced recipes reflect the family’s visits to Charleston, S.C. They loved the town and the flavors.
“But no one was saying, ‘When are you opening up your Southern restaurant or your burger place?’ ” Rabar said.
He was instead constantly asked, “When are you going to open up your chicken restaurant?”
He discovered that outside of one or two chains, there were no restaurants specializing in fried chicken. Even Colonel Sanders is on hard times with the once-ubiquitous KFC, formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, locations closing on a widespread basis.
Rabar and his wife and business partner, Tracy, analyzed their existing menus and the marketplace. They realized that with their existing restaurants in East Providence and Providence, they had the bases covered – salmon, seafood, steaks, burgers, pizza, calamari. All were available at Avenue N within a mile or two of their new location. In other words, don’t look for those items on the menu at Honeybird.
“The basis for our menu is and will be fried chicken,” Rabar said.
The variety of Southern-style dishes will be offered as side dishes. There will also be a grilled chicken option and a vegan “chicken” selection.
Rabar heaps praise on all who are involved in the evolution of his concept.
“This has been a major renovation done by some of the best people in the business,” he said of the physical design of what was previously a gas station on Massasoit Avenue in East Providence.
The timeline, which has extended beyond his original plan, has worked in the ownership’s favor. Most restaurant openings have a clock running. Once property is closed on, the bills become due, and the business must begin sustaining itself. Rabar said the delays, which he calls “the gift of time,” have allowed the evolution of the Honeybird concept to develop, for which he and his team are grateful.
And over the din of those who insist the restaurant business must be turned inside out and become some kind of subsidized workers’ paradise, he has a clear vision of where his success comes from. It is from us on this side of the table.
“What are we without the people who come to support us?” Rabar said.
The opening of Honeybird is planned for the end of August.
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury” is broadcast locally on WADK 101.1 FM and 1540 AM and on radio throughout New England. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
