For the price of a meal, you can take a walk with Bradly VanDerStad, founder of the Providence Tour Co., which he launched in 2018 as a passion project to better connect people with Providence’s rich culture and history.
A visitor can take in a lecture, visit a museum, or book a food tour. But VanDerStad wanted to incorporate all these elements into a single experience.
While the company offers history tours in the summer season, making up a big part of business these days is the Crime Cuisine Tour, a first of its kind “food tour” launched in 2023 that mixes Federal Hill’s organized crime history with its world-renowned culinary offerings, stopping at five different restaurants along Atwells Avenue.
“That has gotten off to a roaring start,” VanDerStad said. “We treat the subject matter very carefully. We don’t talk about blood and guts. I like to play into the image of the mobster and the tough prosecutor going after him and find a narrative way to sneak the food into that.”
A northern New Jesey native, VanDerStad moved to Providence in 2012 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in tourism management at Johnson & Wales University. He became enamored with the city for its architecture, art and restaurants. And it’s criminal lore.
VanDerStad said he wants to “transform tourism in the city” and help reshape its wider perception as simply a capital college town.
“Right now, it is perceived as a place where there is not much to do,” he said. “I’m trying to change the image to a place where people can come and have fun and connect with the culture.”
Centering Providence as an attractive option for Rhode Island residents helps increase local revenues, particularly in the shoulder seasons. VanDerStad said 40% of his Crime Cuisine customers so far live in Rhode Island.
“People are seeing the potential for this to bring people to the Hill,” he said. “And once they are there, they fall in love with it.”
VanDerStad wants to see city and state officials create “tourism infrastructure,” such as plaques and other educational sites that explain the abundance of historic figures and places that were pivotal to the country’s founding.
“It’s about giving people a window into what Providence is. Everyone who lives here knows Providence is amazing, but it can be tough to access that,” he said. “Let’s make more spaces where people can come and see. We are still coming into an identity as a place to come to for a weekend or for vacation. It’s exciting, but you need to keep investing in that.”
In addition to spending $20,000 at Federal Hill restaurants this season, the company, in partnership with the Federal Hill Commerce Association and local vendors, donated $1,000 to the Federal Hill House to fight food insecurity in the neighborhood.
VanDerStad often takes walking tours of cities he visits to learn about the city’s story from an experienced local, a great research tool that helps plan the rest of his stay.
On the strength of the food tour’s success, the company will be hiring 20 more employees and launching five additional tours beginning in the spring of 2024.
“Crime Cuisine has shown me that the walking food tour can be profitable,” VanDerStad said. “Some people are there for the crime. Some are there for the cuisine. But here, you get both.”
OWNER: Bradly VanDerStad
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Walking tours
LOCATION: 1 Providence Place, Providence
EMPLOYEES: Seven
YEAR FOUNDED: 2018
ANNUAL REVENUE: $60,000
