beautiful empty spaces in the center of Union Station continue to be empty pushed us into action to see if we could find a solution ,” Chris says . “ We thought a food hall would be the perfect fit for the location and really would bring the city something it didn ’ t have today .”
Fast forward five years , and the original location of the very first Capital Grille in the nation will now become Providence ’ s first food hall that spotlights local food purveyors .
TRACKING TRENDS
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When you go in , you will really see it ,” Chris Marsella says in mid-November , stepping on plywood planks placed over a dirt path that leads to a boarded-up door . The boards will soon be removed to reveal floorto-ceiling windows at the main entrance of the food hall , which includes an epic , long bar . “ Last time you were in here , there was no back of the house . There were all frames , basically all the plumbing , electrical and mechanical . Now we have our respiratory system , our nervous system , our muscles . We ’ re building a body . We ’ re putting the kitchen equipment in , and the next thing will be putting the skin on everything .”
“ What is this , Silence of the Lambs ?” says Track 15 ’ s marketing director Kaitlyn Frolich , who was a server at Raphael ’ s . She says back then women served the patio at Raphael ’ s and only men were allowed to wait tables inside the dining room .
The two take me through the building that ’ s still a construction zone with two members of their public relations team from Regan Communications . We go through the placement of each of the food vendors and learn where the bar , a potential stage and the dropdown media screen will be located . The back of house area includes walk-in refrigerators and freezers , storage areas , and a central dishwashing location . All the food and drink will be served on real china , using glasses and silverware , and a separate bar will serve local spirits , craft beer and fine wines , including Track 15-branded vodka and gin from Industrious Spirit Company .
The food hall involves indoor and outdoor seating for approximately 600 patrons , an entertainment venue , and a 10,000-square-foot plaza for special events . Flipboard-style menus , similar to those that announce train track arrivals and departures in transportation hubs , will entice diners , and old railroad car floors have been repurposed into communal tables . Menus will change with the seasons .
Much research went into choosing food vendors . The Marsellas hired Kiehm , who played an integral role at the food hall at Harrods in London and later developed many of the Time Out markets in the U . S ., to handle that part of the project .
“ We sat here in September 2020 with masks on and had the first conversation about what a food hall in Rhode Island would look like ,” Kiehm says . “ The answer had to be local-centric .”
Kiehm worked with the Marsella family , including Chris ,
UNION STATION EVOLUTION
The evolution of a Providence landmark over 175 years .
1847 : The Union Railroad Depot , designed by architect Thomas A . Tefft , is built in the Lombard Romanesque style with two large roundhouses and two grand spires .
1896 : A fire destroys the building .
1898 : The new Union Station , consisting of five yellow brick structures , is built atop the recently filled Cove Basin . It was designed by Stone , Carpenter and Willson and constructed by the New York , New Haven & Hartford Railroad . In the station ’ s early days , some 300 trains ran through it daily .
1916 : The Rhode Island Foundation is organized at the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Co . by a group of prominent Rhode Islanders who want to provide charitable giving to the community .
1941 : A fire rages through the east portion of the station .
1977 : Penn Central owns the building , which looks “ dour and abandoned .”
1986 : A new Providence train station served by Amtrak ( and later , the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority ) opens across from the State House .
1986 : Marsella Development Corporation is awarded development rights to Union Station and begins renovations to turn the parcels into retail and office space .
1987 : Another fire strikes , severely damaging the building and halting the $ 11 million renovation project .
1989 : Cookson America moves into the upper floors of the central building .
1990 : Local restaurant impresario Ned Grace opens the nation ’ s first Capital Grille restaurant in the Union Station complex .
1993 : Providence ’ s first brewpub , Union Station Brewery , opens in the complex , serving its own craft beer .
1999 : The Rhode Island Foundation purchases the building for $ 4.5 million and moves its headquarters there .
2000 : Rí Rá , an Irish pub , opens . 2005 : John Elkhay ’ s Luxe Burger opens . 2014 : Rí Rá closes .
2015 : The Capital Grille moves across the street to the space formerly occupied by Ruth ’ s Chris Steakhouse .
2019 : The Marsella family mulls turning the ground-level restaurants into a food hall .
2025 : Track 15 food hall opens . — Dana Laverty
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