WHEN BRENDA MOTTOLA goes out to eat, she isn’t only interested in what’s on her plate.
She’s also looking for what’s underneath it – specifically, the label.
Often, she’ll recognize the name as a brand whose products she sells through her company,
The Watch Hill Group LLC.
Dishware is a staple in the Westerly-based company’s lineup of hospitality industry products, which it sells from manufacturers to local restaurants, hotels and other hospitality customers. Other products in its repertoire range from imported German smokers to patio table umbrellas and wobble-free table stands.
Mottola has carefully cultivated the line of high-end products, choosing designs – and companies – that fit the aesthetic and quality she wants for her brand.
Since launching the business with her husband and co-founder, Jeremy Mottola, in 2017, Watch Hill Group has made a name for itself as a regional leader in the industry, partnering with more than two dozen global manufacturing brands to sell their products to five-star restaurants and luxury hotels.
Mottola, a Rhode Island native who got her start working for her family’s real estate business, easily transitioned from selling houses to buffetware, thanks in part to her husband’s 20-year career in hospitality sales.
“Just being around him, by osmosis I learned a lot,” she said.
Sales was a “natural fit” for her outgoing personality, while her eye for design made choosing which brands and products to represent a fun, rather than burdensome, experience.
“It’s kind of like walking around Home Goods and seeing something that catches your eye,” she said.
That both she and her husband came from families who ran their own businesses gave them realistic expectations about the not-so-glamorous parts of starting a company. Indeed, the pair launched their operation from the kitchen counter of their Westerly home, making calls with their two sons underfoot. They opened an office across from the town train station last year.
When COVID-19 hit, Mottola braced herself for the worst. But even as restaurants and hotels closed their doors, her business continued to grow thanks to renovation projects by big-name clients such as Ocean House. She hired two more sales representatives to keep up with the increasing demand.
“We did better than just survive,” Mottola said.
Watch Hill Group also provides furniture and linens to hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, all of which were busier than ever during the pandemic.
The return to dining out and hotel stays has, in fact, proven more challenging than the temporary shutdown. Supply chain bottlenecks and shipping delays mean products are hard to come by, and even harder to deliver in a reasonable time frame.
Outdoor table umbrellas, for example, won’t be ready until September – too late for the restaurants and hotels that want them for the summer season.
Mottola still feels on edge given these mounting problems, but her anxieties have eased knowing her company is not the only one up against them.
“I feel like we’re going to push through,” she said. “Consumers really just want to get back out there again.”