Boon Street Market brings something for everyone to Narragansett with food hall style
Back in the late 19th and early 20th century, tourists arrived at the Narragansett Pier Railroad Station on Boon Street and awaited transport to Narragansett’s hotels. Long after trains stopped arriving, the building – designed by architect and Woonsocket native Willard Kent – was home to residential and commercial units including a coin-operated laundry.
What a revitalization to see it now as home to Boon Street Market, thought to be the first food hall outside of Providence.
It boasts six different cuisine concepts in open kitchen stalls, two bars, outside televisions for sports viewing and fire pits and heaters to extend the season. There are booths outside, too, and a sound system allows game play-by-play to be heard. They will have live music on stage.
Developers Lindsay Holmes and wife Christina Holmes, and contractor Mike Virgilio started the restoration after purchasing the building at 145 Boon St. four years ago this month. The Holmeses own the Boon Street Market.
Restoration of the building was first and foremost on their agenda.
"It was all chopped up into pieces and we found parts of the building that had never been touched in 100 years," said Lindsay Holmes. "We didn’t want to close off any of the building." Adding a traditional restaurant kitchen would do just that.
So instead they created six restaurant stalls with open kitchens, believing the open-air food market vibe would appeal to people.
"To breathe life back into this building is a dream," she said.
Why a food hall?
Holmes wanted to come up with a concept that would appeal to many demographics. They wanted a place that would check all the boxes for the people of Narragansett including families with children, teenagers looking for something to do, University of Rhode Island students, summer visitors and year-round locals.
"The goal was to create a gathering place, not just a place for dinner," Holmes said.
You can grab sandwiches before the beach or get drinks before dinner or stay to watch a game with friends.
It also doesn’t compete with the storied restaurants in town, she said.
Local developer Chris Mouta put the idea into her head, said Holmes. He's opened food halls in Connecticut in historic buildings.
Revitalizing historic buildings for food halls is happening across the country, she noted.
The food
"Christina and I have five children including twins," she said. "It's so hard to go out when everyone wants something different. There is no need to compromise here."
Boon Street Market has a pizzeria named Cousin Vinny's, a raw bar called Get Shucked, Rhody Ramen, Big Belly Deli, a Mexican restaurant named Ocho Loco and Smoked 'N' Smashed for burgers and barbecue.
"Sometimes you don't know what you want to eat until you get there," said Holmes.
They are running all the stalls and the food is all made onsite. The head chef is Eric Warren, who most recently cooked at Jamestown's Beech.
"He has taken on the menus and concepts to execute them at a high level," said Brandon Johnson, the manager at Boon Street Market who will handle the business day to day. Each restaurant stall has its own talented chef, he said. The open kitchen allows the public to watch the cooking.
All ordering is done at self-service kiosks and any tips are split among the culinary team since there are no servers. It's how they hope to keep their chefs, Johnson said.
The biggest surprise so far has been the popularity of the self-serve, soft ice cream station. Though they are finding the toppings all over the restaurant, they are also seeing many smiling happy kids," he said.
The hours
The hours are daily 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. That is very deliberate, said Johnson. He's been working on the Market project for two full years. His background in the industry, including a first job at The Coast Guard House and years working at George's of Galilee, helped direct his views of the concept.
He described the many hospitality workers in Narragansett and beyond as underserved. These are the cooks, servers, bartenders and support staff who work at all the other food and drink businesses. When they get out of work at 9 or 10 p.m., they had nowhere to go. Staying open late with food and drink gives them a place to unwind, he said.
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The same goes for nurses, police and firefighters, he said. "It's a huge miss if the whole town shuts down at 9 p.m. when there are workers who want to get a meal."
Food can be ordered online.
Being a good neighbor is important, Johnson said. They've already done a fundraiser for the workers displaced by the fire that closed Two Ten Oyster Bar in nearby South Kingstown.
A family history
The Holmeses also developed The Surf Shack Bed & Breakfast and restaurant which opened last year. Johnson's wife, Sydney, manages that property in Narragansett, keeping it all in the family.
Lindsay Holmes comes from a family with a history in restaurants. Her parents owned former Narragansett restaurants Mercedes Ocean House and The Steak Lodge.
"This has been a generational dream," she said.
But with her wife’s career as a musical recording artist, and five kids, they have to depend on others to make it happen. She describes "over-investing in our staff" so they aren't over-committed.
"I think we will be here for the long haul."
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Boon Street Market turns old Narragansett train station into food hall