Parkside Rotisserie & Bar in Providence adds flavor to city’s renaissance
When Steven and Donna Davenport founded Parkside Rotisserie & Bar in Providence, they did so before Providence Place mall or the completion of the Providence River project.
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It was 1996 and the husband-and-wife team was getting started in a place not yet known as the “Renaissance City.”
Now, 10 years later, Steven Davenport looks back at the success of the restaurant and he sees one that has grown with Rhode Island’s capital.
Today, he talks with great pride about how his business survived humble beginnings. He shows off paintings of local artists that line Parkside’s walls. And the menu choices reflect his eclectic tastes in dining.
Despite his success, Davenport hadn’t always intended to be a chef.
Originally, the 49-year-old planned on becoming an accountant, going so far as to study at Bryant College (now known as Bryant University). But during his studies, Davenport made a decision to work in a field in which he already had strong roots – the restaurant industry.
Having worked in the food industry from an early age – whether it was at an eatery or at a supermarket – Davenport said he felt it was a good fit for him.
“I’ve always enjoyed it,” he said. “It’s long hours and long days, but they always seem to go by fast. If you enjoy something as much as I do … it never seems to be a job.”
Eventually, Davenport studied culinary arts at a now-defunct Rhode Island School of Design program. He went on to work at restaurants in the Boston area and when the The Westin Providence hotel opened, he was hired as its executive chef.
(Donna Davenport, he said, has the restaurant industry in her blood. Her family owns the Little Inn in Johnston, operating it since 1964.)
The idea for Parkside came about in 1995, he said.
A friend of his owned a restaurant on South Main Street called Amsterdam’s. Around that time, Davenport’s friend expressed interest in selling the business.
Taking an opportunity and seizing it, Davenport and his wife decided to purchase the restaurant and turn it into what would become Parkside.
In creating the restaurant, Davenport said he wasn’t interested in running another Italian eatery in Providence. Looking to put his own twist on cuisine, Parkside’s menu includes “more fusion foods” – dinners with a Mediterranean style served with an American flair.
The restaurant’s heart is its “Labesse Giraudon” rotisserie – one described by the restaurant as using a “perfected slow-turning process over an open flame,” resulting in tender dishes.
As for the atmosphere, Davenport said he strives for the type of place that will attract people because of its setting or, as he puts it, a “destination restaurant where neighbors feel comfortable eating.”
“We want to be a neighborhood restaurant with fine dining at a reasonable price,” he said.
Alongside the accolades Parkside has received – which include positive reviews in The New York Times and The Boston Globe, as well as the distinction as the R.I. Hospitality and Tourism Association’s restaurateur of the year in 2005 – Davenport said he most enjoys the people who help make his business a success.
Regular customers make up about 80 percent of his business, he said. And the staff, which includes an 11-person cook staff, has been crucial in aiding Parkside’s growth.
When hiring people to work at the restaurant, he said he looks for passion. But even with workers such as his daughter and executive chef Anthony Algasso, Davenport said he still gets in the kitchen and helps prepare meals himself.
“Nobody drives the car like the owner,” Davenport said.
And that’s a characteristic of people in the industry, he said.
Davenport also feels strongly about his industry, saying that restaurateurs are among the hardest-working people he knows. The people in the industry are quick to help out during fund-raisers and are consistently donating their time to civic activities.
“They work seven days a week, from 6 o’clock in the morning until midnight,” Davenport said. “But I can guarantee you that after midnight they’re doing community work somehow, somewhere for someone.”
As for Providence, Davenport said the city has thrived off its arts and historical value.
Additionally, he sees it as a “walking city” that benefits from its small-town feel.
“I think we’ve maxed, but I think there’s a second stage to Providence with all these condos being developed and the 195 [relocation project],” Davenport said. “There’s going to be more retail, more residential and more business.”
And he plans on keeping Parkside around to see the city’s next phase of development.
Davenport said he wants to keep the business running for at least another 10 years, and he expects success will come only if he keeps Parkside original.
“What else would I do? I love golf, but I don’t think my wife would let me play it seven days a week,” he said.
