Rom and Rom ’ s daughter , Jennifer — who lives in Spain and frequents European-style food halls , which is where the food hall idea originally came from — to create a list of potential purveyors and sample as many restaurants and food producers in Rhode Island as they could .
“ We literally ate ourselves through Rhode Island . I think it was between 150 to 200 restaurants ,” Kiehm says . “ I began to understand the food direction of Rhode Island and had conversations with the potential operators .” They narrowed down the list and secured the seven eateries . “ The idea of a food hall is that if the six of us go , then everyone can experience what they want to experience , rather than being at a restaurant where you usually have one direction ,” Kiehm says . “ As you come in , you decide what you are in the mood for . Everyone selects their preference , orders and pays , then goes to the separate bar , gets their drink and gets situated at one of the tables . By the time you are settled , you will get a text message that your food is ready .”
Kristen Adamo , president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau , is particularly thrilled about Track 15 because of its location near the Convention Center and the fact that it brings new event space to the city .
“ There ’ s a trend within meetings and conventions that they don ’ t want to have all their events in the center or the ballroom , so they look for unique function space . A lot of times the size of the space is prohibitive ,” she says . “ But the capabilities of the food hall , whether it ’ s a full buyout or utilizing patio space , there ’ s such flexibility and nimbleness in it that it ’ s going to make our job easier . Now we have this unique venue space that can be part of the package .”
She also notes that visitors in town for conventions and sporting events may not have time for a full restaurant experience , and Track 15 will allow them to enjoy something local , quickly . “ Chris has been great with us about making sure that people understand the role that meetings and conventions play ,” Adamo says . “ A lot of the work that he does is behind the scenes , but it impacts those public facing things like tourism , the arts and the city ’ s culinary brand , but he just doesn ’ t feel the need to trumpet that .”
Like the anonymous maniac musician hiding in the corner of a room in a house in Lovecraft ’ s “ The Music of Erich Zann ,” many people might not know who Chris , or his father , Rom Marsella , are . And while the quote from the short story is now buried under layers of drywall and paint , it ’ s still there , like the invisible tracks the Marsellas have laid for years in the capital city .
HERE ’ S A RUNDOWN ON ALL THE VENDORS AT TRACK 15
There , There
Handheld burgers and sandwiches that feel like home .
The whole premise behind the name There , There is providing comfort . When chef Brandon Teachout came up with the name for his casual burger and sandwich eatery in the West End , he hoped that his food would help people feel better . “ It ’ s that little hug and a tap on the back , like ‘ You ’ re here now ,’” he says . “ We don ’ t know what ’ s going on out there , but when you ’ re here , we ’ re going to make sure we do everything we can to make it good for you .”
There , There was selected as one of the Track 15 vendors for its beloved burgers and handheld fare . Teachout started out in the local restaurant
A variety of burgers , sandwiches , fries and CNY salt potatoes from There , There .
industry at Tallulah on Thames in Newport and Tallulah ’ s Taqueria . Then he went on to be the opening chef at Durk ’ s Bar-B-Q , finally opening his own food startup called Dips Dips . The mobile food business served up French dip sandwiches and sausages , and later snacks like pimento , onion dip and chips from its cart . It later lead to opening There , There .
Track 15 will serve as There , There ’ s second location , offering the same menu items as the West End location . They hope to use the food hall as an outlet to grow and expand the menu at the original spot , while steering more guests there from the food hall . “ There , There has been an awesome proof of concept of what we can execute consistently , at a high level and quickly . We ’ re not trying to break that mold . We ’ re just going to copy and paste what we ’ re doing at There , There , but make it downtown . It ’ s a little welcome for people new to the city .”
The Track 15 menu will include hefty sandwiches like the T . T . Bird with buttermilk fried chicken , mayo and honeygold sauce and the Dream Burger with two patties , cheese , patty sauce , onion jam and shredduce ( shredded lettuce ) on a griddled sesame bun . The CNY ( Central New York ) salt potatoes , drizzled with pepperoncini butter and dusted with green onion , are a must . Teachout also takes pride in lighter fare like a chopped iceberg wedge salad and a kale roll with cornmeal battered kale , tartar sauce , smoky pickle relish and a barbecue rub on a griddled brioche bun .
“ The food hall is an exciting project . We came down here
58 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I FEBRUARY 2025