Leishla Maldonado has been in the industry for about a decade, working in the best bars in Providence like Courtland Club and The Eddy. She helped open Dolores, and worked as a consultant for other local businesses to help them establish solid zero-proof offerings.
“I think bars should be about hospitality, no matter what your drink of choice is,” said Maldonado, who has been sober for the last few years.
Maldonado has big plans for 2024, which she asked me to keep under wraps (for now). It’s a project that’s been “years in the making,” she said, and it has to do with low-proof and nonalcoholic creations. Stay tuned.
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Pizza Marvin co-owner Jesse Hedberg poses for a photo with his Pepperoni Negroni bottled cocktail, which features pepperoni gin, Campari and sweet vermouth.Matthew Healey for The Boston Globe
Jesse Hedberg, co-owner and beverage director, Pizza Marvin
Jesse Hedberg, the co-owner and beverage director of Pizza Marvin, had a big year in 2023. Business partner and chef Robert Andreozzi was a James Beard semi-finalist for the Best Chef: Northeast award, and they’ve hosted a slew of pop-ups and fundraising dinners.
Hedberg said it’s only the beginning. The pair are planning to open another concept that focuses on his bar skills and serves “some serious food.”
Hedberg said they were not yet ready to unveil the name, location, or other details of this new spot, but it will have a lot of the same elements that made people fall in love with Pizza Marvin: modern, fun, and casual. It will also push the limits on techniques, like low-ABV and non-alcoholic options, and clarification (a process where you remove unwanted impurities to improve the appearance, flavor, and texture of a drink. Here’s a beginner’s guide to clarified milk I recommend.)
“I’ll be honest, when zero-proof was becoming the new ‘trend’ years ago, I was pretty anti. A lot of places have some flavored syrups and they say ‘here’s a mocktail’… like a lavender lemonade,” said Hedberg. “That’s a cop out.”
“But beverages are not just about booze anymore. It’s not about just getting drunk,” said Hedberg. “I’m always on the hunt for the next new flavors… And it’s not just a combination of flavors — mixing these liquors with those bitters, and so on. I’m more interested in discovering herbs or ingredients that haven’t been showcased too much in beverages here before, and displaying them as they should be.”
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Elisa Wybraniec, wine director, The Coast Guard House, Narragansett
Elisa Wybraniec is steering the ship at The Coast Guard House when it comes to everything to do with wine, and she’s already carrying out the bulk of her resolutions for 2024 by hitting the ground running on wine-focused events. The restaurant will be launching its dinner series with pastry chef Jamie Welsh starting Jan. 18. Each event will feature five different desserts running the spectrum of chocolate, from white to bittersweet (for $65 per person).
For four Sundays, starting every other beginning Jan. 21, Wybraniec is also hosting a “wine boot camp” series that focuses on Italy, a different region each time. “We will be covering Franciacorta, Trentino Alto-Adige, Bolgheri, Barolo/Barbaresco,” she said. (It’s $55 per session or $175 for all four sessions.)
Anna Gallo, manager, Red Door, Providence
Red Door broke out in downtown Providence’s restaurant scene in late 2021 as the cool place to check out a local rock band, enjoy a late-night smash burger, and sip on creative cocktails. In 2024, bartender and manager Anna Gallo said she plans on collaborating with more local kitchens and nonprofits for some upcoming events. As for the Red Door’s cocktail program, Gallo said she’s eyeing cocktails that take customers out of their comfort zones.
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“Whether it’s a weird absinthe wash drink that you never knew you’d love or a savory fat wash, it’s always been our vision to create something that would change your perspective,” said Gallo. “It’s why we’re all here.”
Chris Saraiva and his wife Nelly own and operate Brands of Portugal in a section of a converted mill building in Rumford, R.I.MARK STOCKWELL FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
Chris and Nelly Saraiva, owners, Brands of Portugal, East Providence
Chris and Nelly Saraiva, the owners of wine import business Brands of Portugal, are sticking to their original goal: to make sure people are drinking “more authentic Portugal.”
“As everyone is becoming more and more health conscious we’re looking to showcase our small producer wines that are made with minimal intervention and low sugar with sustainability in mind,” Nelly Saraiva told me.
They’re also showcasing Per Se Aperitivo, which made its US debut in little Rhody in late 2023. “Think orange, cinnamon, [and] allspice, meets light, elegant and just a hint of bitters,” she said. It’ll make “a fantastic low-proof cocktail on the rocks.” They recommend keeping an eye out for it on some rooftop and beach bars in 2024.
This story first appeared in Globe Rhode Island’s Food & Dining newsletter, a free weekly email about Rhode Island’s restaurant industry that also contains information about local events, Q&As with chefs, dining guides, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail each Thursday, you can sign up here.
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Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is facing a costly and dangerous problem after thieves stole roughly 11 miles of electrical wire from highways across the state, leaving long stretches of road without lighting and drivers at risk.
RIDOT spokesperson Charles St. Martin said there have been at least 16 thefts in recent weeks, mostly in Providence, but also in Cranston, Johnston and Warwick. The agency first realized something was wrong after drivers began calling to report unusually dark sections of highway.
“Right now, about 16 sites or so around the Providence Metro area down into Cranston and Warwick and Johnston that we have different lengths of highway where the lights are out,” St. Martin said in an interview with NBC10.
Cars driving on the highway with no overhead lights. (WJAR)
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St. Martin says thieves accessed underground electrical systems through manholes, cutting and removing large quantities of wire.
RIDOT Director Peter Alviti, speaking on WPRO Radio with NBC10’s Gene Valicenti, said the scale of the problem is staggering and growing.
“You would not believe how many locations throughout the state that we are experiencing the theft of our underground electric cables,” Alviti said. “They’re pulling it out and then selling it for scrap to make money.”
The thefts pose serious safety risks. St. Martin said the suspects are cutting into live electrical wires leaving drivers to navigate dark highways and roads.
The cost to taxpayers is also significant. According to RIDOT, the stolen wire alone carries a material cost of about $470,000, not including labor to reinstall it.
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“When you just look at the amount of wire that we are talking about that we are missing now, it is about 11 miles worth of wire,” St. Martin said. “Just the material cost about $470,000.”
RIDOT says it will likely take several weeks to fully restore lighting along impacted highways, including I-195, I-295, Route 37, Route 10 and Route 6. The agency plans to install heavier, anti-theft manhole covers in the coming months and is working with state and local police to identify those responsible.
Drivers like Perry Cornell say the outages make already challenging roads even more dangerous.
“Dangerous,” Cornell said when asked how it feels driving through dark stretches of highway. “It’s unsafe.”
Lights off on the highway. (WJAR)
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Cornell said the situation raises questions about whether more could have been done to prevent the thefts.
“Why wasn’t this stopped and why wasn’t there a preventative action taken by RIDOT to stop this from continuing to happen?” he asked.
RIDOT is asking the public to remain vigilant. Anyone who sees suspicious activity near highway manholes is urged to contact local police immediately.
Dolan was also ordered to pay a $100 fine, and has completed community service and a driving while impaired course, the records show. Dolan previously lost his license for three months.
“This plea was the culmination of two years of hard work and negotiations by both sides, resulting in a reasonable, fair, and equitable resolution which allows all concerned to move forward,” Michael J. Colucci, an attorney representing Dolan, said in a statement.
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Dolan was arrested and charged in September 2023 in Coventry, where he also allegedly threatened to shoot police officers.
A felony charge of threatening public officials was downgraded to the misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge on Wednesday, according to court records. A third charge of reckless driving and other offenses against public safety was dismissed.
Dolan resigned from the police department in November 2023 while the City of Pawtucket was attempting to fire him. He was acquitted by a jury earlier that year after he shot a teenager in 2021 while off-duty that summer outside a pizza restaurant in West Greenwich.
Dolan, who had an open container of beer in his truck at the time, had argued he pursued the teen and his friends after seeing them speeding on Route 95. The group of teens saw him coming at them in the parking lot of Wicked Good Pizza and tried to drive away, while Dolan claimed he wanted to have a “fatherly chat” and shot at them fearing he was going to be hit by their car.
The teen driver, Dominic Vincent, of West Greenwich, was shot in the upper arm.
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In 2022, Dolan was also charged with domestic disorderly conduct and domestic vandalism after he allegedly grabbed his 10-year-old son by the neck and threw him outside, according to an affidavit by Coventry police supporting an arrest warrant.
Then, while the children were in the car with his wife, Dolan was accused of throwing a toy truck at the vehicle and breaking the windshield, according to the affidavit. The domestic case against Dolan was dismissed about a week after it was filed, per court records.
Material from previous Globe stories was used in this report. This story has been updated to include comment from Michael Colucci.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.
Costco is nominating former US commerce secretary and Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo to serve on its board of directors, the Washington state-based retail giant announced last week.
“We are very pleased to nominate Secretary Raimondo for election to our Board,” Costco chairman Hamilton James said in a statement. “Her vast experience in global business, politics and international security at the highest level will add an important dimension to our current expertise. We look forward to her contributions.”
Raimondo served as Rhode Island governor from 2015 to 2021, when she was tapped to serve as the Biden administration’s secretary of commerce. Before entering politics in 2010, she worked in venture capital.
Her nomination will likely be voted on at the company’s next shareholders’ meeting, scheduled for Jan. 15.
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The nomination comes days after the warehouse store announced it would sue the Trump administration over its tariff policy. Costco says the administration’s tariffs are unlawful, since they were imposed under a law that has historically been used to impose sanctions against other nations.
Earlier this year, Raimondo said she is considering running for president in 2028, becoming one of the first Democrats to do so. She also criticized the direction of the party and suggested it had ignored bread-and-butter economics issues in 2024 election loss to Donald Trump.
She added, though, that “if I thought somebody else would be better, or better able to win, I’d get behind that person in a minute.”
Costco does not currently operate any stores in Rhode Island. The nearest location is located on Interstate 95 in Sharon, Mass., according to the company’s website.
Last year, the company seemed to back away from a plan to build a warehouse at a shuttered correctional facility in Cranston, WPRI reported. Officials in Warwick and Smithfield have also expressed interest in bringing the box store to their communities.
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Material from previous Globe coverage and Globe wire services was used.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.
