Newport Restaurant Group says it will open a new restaurant at Garden City Center in Cranston, taking over the spot where Applebee's once stood before a fire tore through the building two years ago. The concept has not been revealed, and the company has not said when the restaurant will open.
According to WPRI.com, it is unclear exactly what the new restaurant concept will be. What is clear is the scale of the company's footprint at the shopping center: this will mark Newport Restaurant Group's 19th restaurant overall and its second location at Garden City Center, joining Avvio Ristorante, which has operated there since 2016.
Newport Restaurant Group CEO Mick Lamond framed the move as a vote of confidence in the shopping center's food scene, saying, “We look forward to adding to Garden City's vibrant dining scene.” The company did not provide an opening date for the new restaurant, per the same WPRI.com report.
From Total Loss to New Tenant
The site has a rough recent history. A fire tore through the Applebee's restaurant at Garden City on the morning of October 16, 2024, and firefighters were able to contain the flames to that building, according to NBC 10 WJAR. No injuries were reported.
The building was ultimately torn down after being determined a total loss, with demolition coming late last year, the station's report notes. On the cause, accounts diverge slightly: WPRI.com's coverage states that investigators believed the fire was caused by a leaking gas line that ignited while workers were deep cleaning the kitchen overnight, while a separate WPRI.com report states investigators determined that same gas-line cause. The state fire marshal ultimately ruled the fire's cause as accidental, per the same NBC 10 WJAR account.
A Tale of Two Applebee's Rebuilds
The Cranston location's demise set off a chain reaction nearby. Applebee's announced that its Cranston restaurant would move across the street to Chapel View, with the replacement site approved on the other side of Sockanosset Cross Road, next to the Shaw's supermarket on Chapel View Boulevard, according to NBC 10 WJAR's reporting on the permit approval. That rebuilt Applebee's planned to hire 90 local employees to staff the new restaurant, per WPRI.com.
Now, instead of returning to its old Garden City Center footprint, the chain's former spot is being folded into Newport Restaurant Group's growing local portfolio. For a shopping center that has weathered a dramatic fire and a lengthy demolition process, the announcement signals that the vacant lot is finally moving toward active use again, even without a firm timeline in hand.
