Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - January 24, 2025

HOT

4 Million is Hot

Rhode Island International Airport (PVD) soared to new heights in 2024, solidifying its status as the fastest-growing hub airport in New England and one of the nation's top performers.

December 2024 proved a landmark month, marking the airport's best performance since 1997 with 27.3% growth compared to the year before, propelling it past the 4 million passenger milestone for the year, which is even more than before the pandemic in 2019.

Based on FAA data for the other hub airports in the region, PVD is the fastest-growing hub airport in New England for 2024, and also offers the most per capita destinations to Rhode Islanders, with 34.7 routes per million population.

"This success is the result of the joint effort of the RIAC Board of Directors, Governor, Speaker of the House, Senate President and our Federal Congressional Delegation," stated Iftikhar Ahmad, President and CEO of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation. "I would like to congratulate them on this success and thank them for all of their work in making this airport an asset for all Rhode Islanders."

HOT

Lapides Does It Again

Residential Properties Ltd. is expanding again. Island Realty, the long-standing Jamestown firm, is joining RPL. It is the second major deal for the company.

RPL is a locally owned firm reported over $1 billion in sales in 2024.

“Though the purchase of Island Realty is an important part of our 2025 plan for strategic growth, this partnership is about much more; it’s about aligning our values and vision to meet the needs of our clients in this community,” RPL President & CEO Sally Lapides said.

“Island Realty’s dedication to Jamestown and all of Newport County and their tailored approach to real estate perfectly aligns with our mission to provide Rhode Island homeowners and buyers with exceptional service," she added. "Island Realty’s clients will now enjoy the benefit of expanded capabilities and tools with no interruption to the personalized attention they’ve come to expect.”

PHOTO Stephanie Ewens Photography

HOT

Rhode Island Culinary Stars

The James Beard Award Semi-Finalists were announced this week - and the following Rhode Island chefs and restaurants were on the list. 

Outstanding Restaurant: Oberlin, Providence

Emerging Chef: Nikhil Naiker, NIMKI, Providence

Outstanding Hospitality: Persimmon, Providence

Best Chef (Northeast):

Robert Andreozzi, Pizza Marvin, Providence
Subat Dilmurat, Jahunger, Providence
Sky Haneul Kim, Gift Horse, Providence
Nick Rabar, Honeybird Kitchen & Cocktails, East Providence
Derek Wagner, Nicks on Broadway, Providence.

HOT

Providence Restaurant Weeks Returns With 60+ Participating

Providence Restaurant Weeks is back January 26 - February 8, featuring over 60 dining options from Providence, Warwick, South Kingstown, and beyond.

The weeks of delicious indulgences are brought to you by the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau (PWCVB). This year’s Providence Restaurant Weeks features new restaurants and includes prix fixe menus and special offers for lunch and dinner - plus drink specials and more.

“There’s a reason Providence made the list of Eater’s Where to Eat in 2025 - our food scene is among the best in the world, and Providence Restaurant Weeks showcases that,” said Kristen Adamo, president and CEO of the PWCVB. “Twice a year, some of the top restaurants in Rhode Island participate in this special event, offering limited-time specials and menus that are sure to please any palate. Pay a visit to your favorite neighborhood spot or get a seat at one of our area’s brand new restaurants, like CRU PVD or Dolce & Salato. From vegan cuisine to fine dining to family-friendly restaurants, there is truly something for everyone during Providence Restaurant Weeks.”

HOT

Americans Are Americans

As the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Tuesday:

New Jersey Attorney General Mathew Platkin is leading a coalition of 18 attorney generals that sued President Donald Trump on Tuesday to block his attempt to end automatic citizenship for the American-born children of undocumented immigrants.

The action came less than 24 hours after Trump signed an executive order to eliminate what’s called birthright citizenship. That right, long ingrained in the Constitution, holds that anyone born on U.S. soil is an American citizen.

“Presidents in this country have broad powers, but they are not kings,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said at a news conference Tuesday. “They do not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the Constitution.”

The other attorneys general, in taking legal action, filed in Massachusetts, said that allowing the president’s order to take effect would wreak havoc on hundreds of thousands of children born in this country.

Rhode Island is one of the 18 states that signed on. 

HOT

The Paolino Plan

Former Providence Mayor and developer Joe Paolino is proposing a plan to revamp downtown Providence. 

Paolino reached into his own pocket to fund the design work.

Kudos to a business leader for putting some money where his mouth is.

NOT

Hedge Fund Fees

Remember when then-General Treasurer Gina Raimondo came under fire for heavily investing the state's pension fund in hedge funds and paying big fees?

Bloomberg reported this week:

Hedge funds have long been regarded as notoriously expensive. New research reveals just how costly they truly are for their clients.

Of the $3.7 trillion in profits they have earned as an industry since 1969, nearly half or a staggering $1.8 trillion was gobbled up as fees, according to estimates by LCH Investments, a fund of hedge funds. With soaring assets, hedge funds have raised their charges to 50.4% of gains, up from the roughly 30% they earned until the early 2000s.

This is the first time LCH has ever quantified the high expenses that have become the bedrock of hedge fund firms and have helped mint multiple billionaires over the years. 

Warren Buffett once described those fees as “a compensation scheme that is unbelievable,” while Bill Gross, the co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Co., called them a “giant ripoff.” Such criticisms have largely been brushed off by an industry that researcher HFR says has grown sevenfold this century to manage a record $4.5 trillion.

NOT

Remember When Republicans Called Themselves the Law and Order Party?

President Donald Trump's near blanket pardoning of the terrorists who attacked law enforcement and the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, is a slap in the face to every member of law enforcement.

HARD STOP.

NOT

The Very Worst

There has been a lot of bad business news in Rhode Island in recent weeks.

Everything from one of the state's top award-winning restaurants announcing that it is closing its Rhode Island location and moving to Connecticut to the sale of the beloved Old Canteen restaurant. It is being transformed into a wiener joint.

Unemployment in the state is up 27% year over year.

Those examples were anecdotal.

Now comes a new study that ranks Rhode Island as the worst to start a business.

NOT

James Beard Award-Winning Rhode Island Chef Closing Restaurant

As GoLocal first reported, 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." 

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. 

GoLocal reached out to the landlord, Nikolas Zarokostas, who said it was the first he was learning of the restaurant closing and leaving.

NOT

Old Canteen Transformed into a Wiener Joint

About two weeks ago, GoLocal broke the story that Sal Marzilli and his family were selling the Old Canteen to one of Newport businessman Nicholas Schorsch's companies.

Now, the word is that the restaurant will no longer continue as a traditional Italian restaurant, but Schorsch has announced that the Old Canteen will be made into a wiener joint called “Wally’s Wieners.”

As chronicled in a GoLocal investigative series, Schorsch has been gobbling up many of the best-known restaurants in Newport.

Over the decades prior to moving to Rhode Island full-time, he had a track record that includes OSHA violations, allegations of environmental crimes, and being forced to pay millions in penalties to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Schorsch’s purchase of the Old Canteen marks the end of one of the city’s most iconic restaurants. It has served as the gateway to Federal Hill for nearly 70 years and was the place where organized crime bosses like Raymond Patriarca ate lunch most days and the late Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci held court.