(8.6) First, be advised, a food truck/craft beer event will take place Saturday afternoon at India Point Park. Food trucks start, noon to 3pm; the beers get added 3pm to 6pm. A general admission ticket costs $10 on-site day-of. This is one of those things put on by a big company from out of state.
However, further down the waterfront, ‘Eat Drink RI’ will be hosting a Central Market preview on the site of the old Shooters, where the ferry comes in (see picture below). Stop by between 2pm and 6pm and see whether this idea works for you. OR would you rather see a shore dinner hall/clam shack here? (My personal vision. Oprah says if I believe in my dreams . . .)
The Eat Drink RI Central Market will contain multiple event spaces, an active Market Hall for local farm goods, producers and food artisans, independent locations for restaurants, and commercial & presentation kitchens for small scale production, broadcast, promotional, and educational purposes. The waterfront Market is poised to serve as a major tourist destination for visitors from all over the country, and is located at the Providence ferry terminal, with service to and from Newport.
This Central Market preview will be a showcase and mini-market of over 20 vendors that have expressed interest in a permanent space within the Eat Drink RI Central Market upon its opening. Some participants include The Backyard Food Company, El Rancho Grande, The Granny Squibb Company, Moonrose Farm, Narragansett Creamery, New Harvest Coffee Roasters, Stock Culinary Goods, Yacht Club Soda, and many more.
That’s a pretty ambitious plan, but it’s a big space. Maybe there’s room for all that market stuff on the first floor and my clam shack can be on top. Don’t we have enough “markets” already? How many more venues for buying rose hip chutney, herbal tea, and healing candles do we need?
I like many of the above named vendors quite a bit actually — Narragansett Creamery vanilla yogurt and El Rancho Grande are the bomb — but we don’t have a single clam shack in Providence. Horton’s is closed. Blount’s is closed. Hemenway’s is great, but fancy. This is exactly where a clam shack should be!
I found myself driving around that area a couple weeks ago, randomly looking for a “clam shack” with my Dad. Seriously… just a little place where I could get some chowder, clam cakes, etc. Iggy’s III could buy one of your spots, I guess… and then we can all wait in line for an hour for said chowder and clam cakes.
Who says we can’t have a clam shack in here? Also, no one I’m talking with sells anything like “rose hip chutney, herbal tea, and healing candles” (ok, there may be some “fancy” chutneys and teas if they’re produced locally!). I’m all for a clam shack. If you know someone wanting to rent space for it, have them contact me. We have 100-400 sq. ft. storefronts as well as some in the 1,000-2,000 sq. ft. range.
Thanks for sharing the Market news! Hope you can visit tomorrow.