In 2006, Kristen Adamo, then vice president of marketing at the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, set out to make Providence a top food destination. “Restaurant Weeks” was born, with about 40 restaurants participating that first year.
PWCVB, also known as GoProvidence, “knew that between Johnston and Wales (culinary program), the great immigrant tradition and fresh seafood” Providence had great culinary potential, Adamo said.
This year, two decades later, 93 restaurants will be participating in Restaurant Weeks from Jan. 25 to Feb. 7, Adamo said. Many participating businesses will be offering special deals such as set menus and meal discounts.
Adamo, now CEO of GoProvidence, believes the initiative has been a success, noting that Providence has since been featured in Travel and Leisure and elected as one of the country’s eight “Next Great Food Cities” by Food and Wine.
Since Restaurant Weeks have been “around for 20 years, people are kind of obsessed with it,” Adamo added. “I love to see people with their significant other or their friends out having a good time. And that’s really what our industry is for.”
The weeks occur biannually — in late January and early July — when restaurants tend to experience “tough times” since regular customers may be travelling for the holidays, Adamo explained.
“The cool thing about this area is most of the restaurants are essentially small businesses. They’re owned by families or husbands and wives or friends. So it was a great way for us to be able to raise their profile” and offer support, she said.
The Herald spoke with three restaurant week participants serving up fresh dishes and new deals.
Angelo’s Civita Farnese Restaurant, founded in 1924, has participated in Restaurant Weeks since 2006. Angelo’s is the oldest family owned restaurant on Atwells Avenue, a street in Providence known for its prominent Italian community.
Angelo's Civita Farnese
“We’re a super hands-on family restaurant. We love our customers,” said Jamie Antignano, owner of Angelo’s and GoProvidence board member. “Some customers, because they’ve been coming here for decades, don’t even need a menu anymore. We know what their order is. It’s a very TV show environment.”
The restaurant is offering a select low-cost menu featuring $2 dishes for Restaurant Weeks, which they initially introduced as part of a celebration of their 100-year anniversary, Antignano said.
“We’re 102, so we thought $2 would be fair,” said Antignano.
Although this means offering dishes at a “grave discount” and not seeing a “financial benefit,” it pays off by drawing attention to the restaurant, Antignano said.
Bellini, an Italian restaurant in Providence’s financial district, has participated in Restaurant Weeks since opening in fall 2021. This winter, Bellini’s promotion, which applies for both lunch and dinner, consists of a three course prefix that starts at $55. This includes an appetizer, entree and desert. Customers can also opt to add a three course wine pairing starting at $28.
“Restaurant Week as a concept … is pretty wonderful to any market,” Alex Pendergrass, executive general manager at Bellini, told The Herald. “January into February is a really solid time to be doing this in the city, when it typically tends to be quieter.”
Bellini Restaurant
We see a “substantial increase in our lunch business” and “double digit growth in terms of” weekend dinners during Restaurant Weeks, Pendergrass added. “It’s a great way to just inject a little bit of life into a rather dreary time of the year.”
“Restaurant Week is a really great opportunity to have a different client base,” he added. Guests are “able to come out and enjoy a really fantastic meal at an agreeable price.”
While Restaurant Weeks can bring in an influx of business, Pendergrass said “We have a strong team here, and they’re very much up for the engagement and the additional guests that we’re servicing.”
Antignano added that Angelo's busyness during the promotion can be difficult to accommodate. But it is ultimately “a blessing,” she said.
The increase in business isn’t equally felt across all participating restaurants. While Felicia Neves, manager of Bodega on Smith, appreciates the concept of Restaurant Weeks, “I wouldn’t say we gained a lot of business from it,” she explained. But the deli continues to participate because they wanted to “give our locals … a little more than the daily combo,” she said.
The bodega started participating in Restaurant Weeks in 2025, Neves said. During Restaurant Weeks, customers are offered special deals on sandwiches during lunchtime.
According to GoProvidence’s website, there are 98 dinner options and 40 lunch options for Restaurant Weeks this year. Neves wanted Bodega on Smith to stand out, so they’ve opted to provide a special lunch combo.
“I know there’s not a lot of delis that do restaurant week, that’s one of the reasons why we participated as well,” Neves explained. “I’m trying to be that one deli that’s trying to grow the deli industry.”
“We decided, you know, why not? We’re open anyways, let’s just give it a try,” she said.
Bodega on Smith
