Our Participating Restaurants
Aside from our generous donors and supporters, our program doesn't work without the commitment and passion of the participating restaurants who step in and step up to help us fight food insecurity in Rhode Island. They are part of our family, and we are incredibly lucky to partner with incredible teams at each of these local, independently owned eateries.
Giusto
Many restaurants continue to struggle with labor shortages since the onset of the pandemic. We are constantly looking at ways to engage with our team and take care of them not only financially but holistically to keep them happy and fulfilled so they want to stay, learn and grow in this industry. We are trying to work with farmers and leverage our resources to be smart about what we serve; and we try to be as flexible as possible with writing menus, coming up with dishes and working with products that are available and sustainable versus those products and ingredients we want to use because we know that they're popular, or will sell, or feeds our ego.
Mangiamo
thirsty beaver
Located in Cranston, Thirsty Beaver Pub is the latest RI restaurant stepping up to give back to their community. While it has been challenging to navigate the new protocols and make sure the teams are staying safe, it hasn't stopped them from putting their best foot forward and providing great food to their customers.
Iggy's
Located in Warwick, Iggy's joins the fight to tackle food insecurity in RI.
"If it were not for our dedicated staff, we would not have made it through this pandemic. They worked tirelessly to uphold Iggy's standards while also keeping themselves, and our guess safe." When it's full-service restaurant closed down for two and a half months, Iggy's reallocated most staff positions to its two Chowder House locations (Warwick and Narragansett). Thankfully, these two locations stayed open, but the team had to reinvent their brand and shift focus on new ways to serve their community.
Gel's Kitchen
Located in West Warwick, Gel's Kitchen is no stranger to reaching deep within the community to ensure its neighbors are taken care of. But when indoor dining closed on March 17, 2020, sales dropped by 70% and a breakfast place wasn't positioned well for take-out.
That's when owner, Angelica, expanded her hours, changed her menu, began offering re-heatable meals at lunch prices, started selling her home baked goods, AND turned her dining room into a workspace to make t-shirts that she would also sell to help supplement the lost revenue until she was able to reopen her doors.
blackie's
No strangers to charitable giving, we welcome Blackie's to our family! Located in Smithfield, owners Jeanine and Chef Angie told us they are "so happy to have the opportunity to give back to our community in such an organic way.
Healthy, delicious meals should be available to everyone. Playing a small part to fight the battle with food insecurity means so much to the Blackie’s family."
Soco Vedge
Located in Narragansett, SoCo Vedge owners Dean & Julie told us that the pandemic is what brought SoCo Vedge into existence!
Before that, they were both working other jobs and with the loss of them, SoCo Vedge was born. They took it upon ourselves to create a service for the community that it was lacking and have been welcomed with open arms.
Atrium onMain
Having purchased this business in February of 2020, there were a lot of curveballs thrown our way that changed how we originally planned to begin this new journey. When the pandemic hit full effect and we were unable to open our new restaurant to the public, we completely switched gears and decided to take the unexpected time to renovate as well as introduce ourselves to the small businesses around us while we all relied on each other to stay afloat.
Whether it be a regular who has come to love our food every week, a first timer that is giving us a chance, or someone out in the community we donate food to, every smile means the world to us in a different way. We can’t be who we aim to be without community.
