secured seven tenants , including a seafood and raw bar concept from Dune Brothers ; regional Mexican cuisine from the Meza family at Dolores ; burgers and more from There , There ; and two Italian concepts from Kevin O ’ Donnell , chef and owner of Giusto and co-owner of Mother Pizzeria in Newport . The two latest merchants to join are Little Chaska , an Indian concept from Sanjiv and Vandana Dhar , and Tolia from chef Alp Gumuscu , who will focus on the cuisine of the region of Anatolia .
The Marsella Development Corporation owns 16,000 square feet of the Union Station building , including the former Capital Grille and Bar Louie space , and the Rhode Island Foundation owns and occupies the two floors above .
Floors are polished , tile is laid , and the wooden boards on the windows have come down . It ’ s the third time Rom Marsella has reimagined the space . “ When this thing opens , he is the one to thank ,” says Christopher Marsella , president of Marsella Development Corporation , the agency his father launched in the late ’ 70s . Chris stands over six feet tall , is impeccably dressed in stylish casual wear , and is reluctant to don a white hard hat over his full head of blond , coiffed
LEFT : A rendering of what Union Station ’ s plaza will look like . ABOVE : Christopher and Rom Marsella overlooking the Union Station Plaza . hair . He gestures around the dusty , noisy construction site in mid-November .
“ I have blood , sweat and tears and lost pounds of flesh in this thing , but this man forgot he retired and has been here every day and running around at the age of eighty-three ,” he says . “ His story and background with this building , for the third time , is an interesting one .”
After stepping down as the director of the Providence Foundation in 1976 , Rom Marsella — also with a remarkable head of silvery blonde hair and equally as well dressed as his son — established the development firm Urban Consultants . The firm played a role in the Capital Center , Providence Performing Arts Center and Promenade Center projects in Providence , in addition to the Union Station Complex , One Citizens Plaza and the Marriott Courtyard Hotel , which all breathed new life and business into the capital city .
Track 15 , the Marsella family ’ s latest project , pays tribute to one of Providence ’ s greatest assets : its food scene .
Individuals have tried unsuccessfully to open a food hall in Providence , never progressing from fundraising and planning to construction . And while the multilevel Plant City bills itself as “ Providence ’ s first food hall ,” it ’ s different from food halls in other cities in that all four plant-based dining options and market are from the same owner . A food hall typically
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