James Beard Award-Winning Rhode Island Chef Closing Restaurant

James Beard Award-Winning Rhode Island Chef Closing Restaurant

A top award-winning chef in Rhode Island has announced she is closing her restaurant’s doors, citing landlord issues. 

Chef Sherry Pocknett - who won the prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef Northeast in 2023 - said she is shuttering “Sly Fox Den Too” in Charlestown. 

"Sly Fox Den is not just a restaurant and bar, but a cultural center that educates the public on Indigenous food ways, culture and history," according to the restaurant website. "At Sly Fox Den Restaurant and Bar, we specialize in the food that has always been here, and the traditional techniques in farming, hunting, fishing, and cooking that make that food possible." 

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On Friday, Pocknett, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, shared the news of her decision to close her Rhode Island restaurant. 

Moreover, she said she is now planning to open a location in Connecticut instead. 

When reached Friday night, Pocknett told GoLocal that the situation is "sad" - but that she is looking ahead to her next chapter. 

 

Issues With Heat, and More

Pocknett said the following regarding the closure. 

“Unfortunately, after years of being here at the Charlestown location, we will have to close the doors due to horrible landlord issues ever since we signed the lease there’s always been an issue,” wrote Pocknett. “The biggest one is our heat issue, which has never been fixed and for the first time I have withheld rent and they now filed papers for us to get out. We are not even a month behind.”

Pocknett said her landlord said he “would take care of the issue multiple times and never followed through” and that she would come into the buidling with temperatures “as low as 38.”

“[And] for some reason, [he] decided to have his ‘business partner’ girlfriend send me a text message saying they would not be taking care of the heat, after he had said multiple times that he would fix it,” said Pocknett. 

“It is just shameful - beware to anyone who rents this building after we are gone, this landlord is quite ridiculous,” said Pocknett.

According to Pocknett, Sunday “will be their last day.”  

“If you have any gift cards and don’t make it in to use them, we will honor them at our upcoming Pow Wows this summer for any catering jobs you would like to use us for and of course, once we open our building we own in Preston, [Connecticut] as soon as possible - this is just an unfortunate event, but maybe it is just the push,” she added. 

“We need to get our own building up and running,” she said. “Also, if anyone can point me in the direction of legal help with a landlord wrongful termination, it would be greatly appreciated.”

Efforts to reach the restaurant's landlord were unsuccessful at time of publication.