NEWPORT, R.I. — After nearly two decades in business, the owners of The Fifth Element are shutting their restaurant down, marking the end of another Newport institution.
“We’ve made the bittersweet decision to pass along the 111 Broadway location to a Rhode Island based, community oriented seasoned restaurateur,” the owners of the restaurant wrote on social media on Tuesday.
The Fifth Element initially opened at 111 Broadway in 2005. For 17 years, it was owned by Brad Cherevaty and Frank and Anna Doyle. In 2021, the three owners announced they sold the company to a group of investors operating under Carpe Noctem Restaurant LLC, which is controlled by Derek Savas, Aryn Hawks, and Sebastian Grasso. At the time, the investors purchased the property as part of a $4.5 million sale, but the space where Fifth Element was located was sold for $2.49 million, according to city real estate records.
Burger joint Chomp Kitchen and Drinks will open its third location inside the former Fifth Element space sometime in 2025. Chomp, which is owned by restaurateur Sam Glynn, already has a location in Providence and Warren, R.I.
“We are honored to be the new stewards of the iconic Fifth Element restaurant and join the thriving Broadway restaurant community,” Glynn wrote on social media.
The owners of the Fifth Element said they plan to move on to their “next venture,” but it’s unclear if that could include opening a different restaurant. Hawks and Savas purchased a nearby building on Broadway that was known to many locals as the Salvation Cafe, which closed in late 2021. Callum McLaughlin, a New York City restaurateur who is a partner of the Grey Lady, opened Cabana in the summer of 2022, but the Caribbean-themed restaurant was short lived.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.