Rhode Island
Once called a top 10 pizza restaurant in the US, the last RI Bertucci’s has closed
Bertucci’s third bankruptcy in seven years has claimed the last of the chain’s Rhode Island restaurants.
The Warwick Bertucci’s Kitchen and Bar at 1946 Post Road closed on Thursday, April 25.
“It was a sad day yesterday,” read the Bertucci’s Warwick Instagram post on April 26. “We will miss all our employees & customers. Thank you for your business. We are no longer open in Warwick, RI.”
The Northboro, Massachusetts-based restaurant chain serves brick oven pizza and pasta dishes. It was founded in 1981 in Somerville by Joey Crugnale.
The bankruptcy filing claims $10 million to $50 million in assets and liabilities, according to a story in USAToday. Bertucci’s plans to pivot to fast-casual dining with a new venture called Bertucci’s Pronto, which already has a Tremont Street location in downtown Boston, the story said.
“For Bertucci’s longstanding and loyal patrons, the Bertucci’s you know, and love is here to stay as well, just with a few less locations for now,” the chain said in a statement obtained by Restaurant Business Magazine.
Also closed on April 25 were four restaurants in Massachusetts including Braintree, Mansfield, North Andover, Norwood and Plymouth. The state has 10 remaining open restaurants and there is also one in Glastonbury, Connecticut. A few are open in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.
As recently as three years ago, there were 52 restaurants in 10 East Coast states, from New Hampshire to Virginia.
The first time the chain filed for bankruptcy was in 2018 while it was trying to sell itself to an affiliate of a Chicago investment firm. It was eventually bought by Earl’s Enterprise, the parent company of Planet Hollywood. The second time was in 2022, when Bertucci’s cited pandemic losses.
It was back in 1988 when Bertucci’s opened its first Rhode Island restaurant in East Providence. At that time, Boston Magazine declared it the best pizza in Boston for its annual “Best and Worst” list. USA Today named Bertucci’s as one of America’s top 10 pizza restaurants in 1989.
The second Bertucci’s opened in Warwick in 1990.
Then, it seemed everyone was opening brick-oven or other specialty pizzerias. There was plenty of competition for everyone’s pizza dollar. Bertucci’s struggles began.
There were lots of openings and closings, including one in North Attleboro. Rhode Island was down to one Bertucci’s in Warwick.
Vigil in Lippitt Park for victims of mass shooting at Brown University
See the Dec. 14, 2025 vigil in Lippitt Park following the mass shooting at Brown University.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, along with Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and others, announced Dec. 14 that they were releasing the person of interest originally detained for the mass shooting at Brown University.
Neronha said that tips “led to us detaining a person of interest,” but that the evidence “now points in a different direction.”
“We have a murderer out there, frankly,” Neronha said.
As attorney general, Neronha and his office will play a large role in the investigation over the shooting. Here’s what to know about the top legal official in Rhode Island.
Who is Peter Neronha?
Neronha is Rhode Island’s 74th attorney general. He was sworn in on Nov. 6, 2018.
As attorney general, Neronha leads an office that “prosecutes criminal cases; represents state agencies, departments and commissions in litigation; initiates legal action when necessary to protect the interests of Rhode Islanders; and oversees the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation,” according to his office.
Previously, Neronha was the United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 2009 to 2017. He was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
He began his career in public service as a Rhode Island Special Assistant Attorney General in 1996. He was later appointed Assisted Attorney General, and then joined United States Attorney’s Office as an Assistant United States Attorney in 2002.
Neronha is a fourth generation native of Jamestown, Rhode Island. He has undergraduate and law degrees from Boston College.
Neronha’s relationship to Trump
During President Donald Trump’s second term, Neronha has sued the president and his administration over 40 times.
Some of the lawsuits that he has co-led include ones over withheld education funds and the dismantling of federal agencies like Health and Human Services and those that support public libraries and museums.
Neronha often criticizes the president in his lawsuits. In a press release announcing a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration Nov. 25 for reducing grant funds for projects that could help people experiencing homelessness, Neronha said that the administration continues to “punch down” on vulnerable Americans.
“The President and his Administration don’t care about making life easier or better for Americans; they only care about political capitulation, consolidating power, and further enriching the wealthy,” he said.
In a press conference earlier this year, Neronha said that he sues the Trump administration when the president has broken the law, when Americans have been harmed and when they have the legal standing to bring an action against the administration.
While it’s unclear if Trump has ever commented on Neronha specifically, he has often attacked judges who have tried to block his policies.
The Rhode Island Blood Center is asking for donations after the fatal shooting at Brown University on Saturday.
Several donor centers have extended hours available as they respond to the emergency.
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Anyone interested can sign up for an appointment on the organization’s website.
PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Blood Center’s blood supply was low before Saturday’s mass shooting at Brown University, and it is immediately stepping up blood drives to meet the need, an official said Sunday.
“We were definitely dealing with some issues with inventory going into the incident,” Executive Director of Blood Operations Nicole Pineault said.
The supply was especially low for Type 0 positive and negative, which are often needed for mass casualty incidents, she said. Type 0 negative is considered the “universal” red blood donor, because it can be safely given to patients of any blood type.
Pineault attributed the low supply to weather, illness, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. With more people working from home, blood drives at office buildings are smaller, and young people — including college students — are not donating blood at the same rate as they did in the past, she said.
“There are a lot challenges,” she said.
But people can help by donating blood this week, Pineault said, suggesting they go to ribc.org or contact the Rhode Island Blood Center at (401) 453-8383 or (800) 283-8385.
The donor room at 405 Promenade St. in Providence is open seven days a week, Pineault said. Blood drives were already scheduled for this week at South Street Landing in Providence and at Brown Physicians, and the blood center is looking to add more blood drives in the Providence area this week, she said.
“It breaks my heart,” Pineault said of the shooting. “It’s a terrible tragedy. We run blood dives regularly on the Brown campus. Our heart goes out to all of the victims and the staff. We want to work with them to get the victims what they need.”
She said she cannot recall a similar mass shooting in Rhode Island.
“In moments of tragedy, it’s a reminder to the community how important the blood supply really is,” Pineault said. “It’s an easy way to give back, to help your neighbors, and be ready in unfortunate situations like this.”
The Rhode Island Blood Center has donor centers in Providence, Warwick, Middletown, Narragansett, and Woonsocket, and it has mobile blood drives, she noted.
On Sunday, the center’s website said “Donors urgently needed. Hours extended at some donor centers, 12/14.”
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.
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