At a recent restaurant-menu re-launch party, the restaurateur asked one of his invited guests about the accuracy of an often-quoted statistic about restaurants closing. The old saw goes that the vast majority of restaurants – I have heard a figure of as high as 90 percent – close within their first year of operation.
The guest, an industry adviser, reassured our host that the number bandied about is not founded in reality. The fact is that most restaurant facilities that close their doors, that is, “go out of business,” reopen quickly as new restaurants. Here are two recent examples.
Nautika Restaurant and Bar opened in May at 28 Water St. on the East Greenwich waterfront. This address has seen other restaurant concepts in the past.
Now it is under the expert hand of Mario and Cheryl Micheletti, who bring their successful experience across Narragansett Bay. The Michelettis had sold their popular Tyler Point Grille in Barrington which they had owned for many years. Already West Bay residents, they saw a much easier commute. At the same time, the opportunity was not one that they leaped at.
“Our plan was to move to Florida,” Mario Micheletti said.
The couple’s youngest daughter is attending the University of Tampa and they saw this as the opportunity to start the next chapter in their lives. At the same time, their ties to Rhode Island remained, as their oldest attends the University of Rhode Island. The owner of the restaurant building and property is a longtime acquaintance of the Michelettis.
The landlord presented the couple with a turnkey operation and the opportunity to have a seasonal restaurant. Staying in the Ocean State for the warm-weather months appealed to the restaurateurs. Micheletti immediately noticed “striking similarities” between the East Greenwich venue and Tyler Point. Both are co-located with marinas and dockage facilities.
Nautika’s neighbor restaurant displays a large sign visible to boaters on Greenwich Bay inviting them to “Dock & Dine.” While Nautika welcomes all from land and sea, there is no agreement with the marina to provide hospitality to its floating tenants, as the restaurant’s previous ownership had.
Micheletti saw in his new East Greenwich eatery an opportunity to launch a new concept combining the fresh flavors of summer with a touch of Italy. For example, Nautika’s calamari is done fritti style, flash fried with zucchini, then served with lemon oregano aioli and spicy sriracha tomato sauce. Micheletti put fish and chips on his menu, as well as a raw bar. He has Buono’s Bakery in Providence specially making the bun for his hamburger, which he named the Buono Burger.
On the East Bay, Vine-yard East has taken the space formerly known as Cattails at 315 Waterman Ave. in East Providence. This address has also been home to various restaurants for as many years as the locals can remember. And like Nautika, Vine-yard East is being run by a veteran restaurateur. Jeff Boisseau and his wife Donnalee are the proprietors. Boisseau most recently started a pair of brewpubs in the Boston area called Sea Dog and successfully managed restaurants in Las Vegas.
The menu has steak house-style selections, such as a 10-ounce ribeye topped with either cabernet shallot butter, brandy peppercorn demiglace or sweet onions, gorgonzola and bacon. There is seafood such as panko crusted haddock with Napa cabbage slaw and fries and Narragansett Bay littlenecks steamed in Narragansett beer. The dining room and bar retain the basic look of its previous iteration, modern yet comfortable.
Vine-yard East’s chef is Heather McKnight of Seekonk, a Johnson & Wales University graduate, who with Boisseau developed the menu of easily recognizable dishes with local seafood, all pairing easily with wines.
Both restaurants, although different in their concepts, share a common theme. They took over viable existing spaces that had been recently made over by previous owners. Both were able to be re-launched with new concepts while requiring a minimum of build-out, saving time and money. Both Nautika and Vine-yard East are owned and operated by restaurateurs who are currently operating or have just divested existing, viable businesses. This means more than just proven track records. This can also provide fledgling operations with a helping hand in the sometimes tough early going.
This may turn out to be the business model of the current day. The benefit certainly goes to those who dine out often and are always looking for new places to try. •
Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” food and wine talk-radio show is heard Saturdays and Sundays on WPRV-AM 790 and stations throughout New England. He can be reached by email at
bruce@brucenewbury.com.
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