and checked out the space , talked about the vision and the history of the location ,” Teachout recalls . “ I think a lot of people agree that Providence wants a food hall like this .” theretherepvd . com
Giusto and Mother Pizzeria
Coastal Rhode Island Italian , wood-fired pizzas and housemade gelato .
Kevin O ’ Donnell , chef and owner of Giusto and co-owner of Mother Pizzeria , both in Newport , is a Rhode Island native who learned he wanted to be a chef by working in various Rhode Island restaurants , including CK Pizza in North Kingstown , where he grew up , and Junction Pizzeria in Wickford . He opened Giusto in 2020 , and Mother followed in the summer of 2023 . Track 15 will host the Providence versions of both restaurants . He is running Mother Pizzeria with general manager Lauren Schaefer and executive chef Kyle Stamps , who he met at Junction Pizzeria . Track 15 ’ s Mother Pizzeria has its own wood-burning pizza oven , just like the Newport location .
O ’ Donnell views the food hall as an opportunity to expand the brands of both businesses .“ This is our first time leaving Newport from a business perspective , so we ’ re looking at this as a great opportunity to tap into and bring awareness about our restaurants to the Providence area and the northern part of the state ,” O ’ Donnell says . “ You
Squid ink calamari from Giusto ; a wood-fired pizza from Mother Pizzeria .
know Rhode Island — people don ’ t always love to cross bridges . That goes both ways .”
For Track 15 , they are compiling a menu of Giusto ’ s greatest hits , including fresh pastas , seafood and the popular squid ink calamari . “ We change the menu every month at Giusto so we have a stockpile of recipes and dishes we ’ ve done over the past four years ,” he says . “ We took all of our favorites and fan favorites and put those together to compile the opening menu at Giusto PVD .”
Mother will have a similar approach to the Newport location with wood-fired pizzas and salads , and a special sundae served only in Track 15 : coffee milk gelato made with Autocrat syrup and New Harvest coffee and candied lemon pieces reminiscent of Del ’ s Lemonade .
O ’ Donnell says he hit it off with the Marsella family from the very beginning . “ We wanted to make sure we stay true to what their vision is , which is trying to showcase Rhode Island and everything that is great in the state . So when we are cooking our food and coming up with dishes , it ’ s important that we think about great producers ,” O ’ Donnell says . “ Sourcing is one of my favorite things to do as a chef . It ’ s this constant search , and we have so many great ingredients in Rhode Island .” giusto newport . com ; motherpizzeria . com
Little Chaska
Indian-style food .
Saag paneer with naan bread from Little Chaska .
When Sanjiv Dhar first learned about Track 15 , he reached out to Matthias Kiehm to get the scoop . Dhar and his family have a history of introducing Indian cuisine to Rhode Islanders , starting with Kabob and Curry , established in 1987 on Thayer Street in Providence . Since then , their empire has expanded to four restaurants and counting . “ I felt that Indian cuisine would be a great addition , because there were a lot of other kinds of flavors represented ,” Dhar says . He and the group met over lunch and sealed the deal .
Dhar already owns four independent Indian restaurants with his wife ,
( THIS SPREAD ): PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THERE , THERE ; COURTESY OF GIUSTO AND MOTHER PIZZERIA ; COURTESY OF LITTLE CHASKA / JIM BAKER .
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I FEBRUARY 2025 59