PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PROVIDENCE BAGEL.
Providence Bagel
Bagel-backed giving with a schmear.
PROVIDENCE BAGEL’S DRIVE-THROUGH COLD BREW kept us going through the coronavirus-related shutdown. But, behind
the scenes, owner Chris Wietecha was spreading the wealth like cream cheese on a toasted bagel. He loaned out his Providence
window to pop-ups and drew in more than $25,000 for the Rhode Island Feeds Our Heroes initiative, which raised money for the
purchase of area restaurant gift cards for local frontline workers. We caught up with Wietecha to learn more.
Rhode Island Monthly:
Why did you open the
drive-through to popups?
Chris Wietecha: When I
started seeing these pop up
businesses and food trucks
posting on Instagram that
they had to cancel all their
events, the lightbulb went off.
We have a space, we had
limited our hours, and using
the drive-through was a really
safe option for pop ups. I
contacted a friend [Jamie
Buscher] who is involved in
a lot in Rhode Island and
we started moving on the
opportunity quickly.
RIM: You also launched RI
Feeds Our Heroes; could
you tell us about that?
C.W.: This one hits home
most for me. My wife is an ICU
nurse in Boston and when
COVID first hit, along with the
worries of Providence Bagel
came the worries of her. We
were very stressed and
worried for our family. I
always knew our frontline
were true heroes, but they
have really shined through
this whole pandemic. I
thought, how can I help these
frontline workers? I also was
very nervous for all the other
restaurants in the area.
I wanted to help them too.
And then somehow, I thought,
wait: I can help both of these
groups at once. We decided,
let’s raise funds, purchase gift
cards from local businesses
and drop them off at local
hospitals to give out to staff
members. Jim Nellis from
RI Food Fights and Robin
Dionne from RI VegFest
helped spearhead this one
with me and it has been
very successful.
RIM: When you’re already
doing something — and
well, we might add; best
everything bagel around!
— why take on more?
What’s your motivation?
C.W.: From day one, part of
my mission has been to give
back. The community
supports me, so I need to do
the same. I like to get creative,
though, and do fun things.
I know how difficult this
pandemic has been for
everyone, but helping out
where I can truly makes me
feel good. I want our
company to be known as a
part of Rhode Island. This
pandemic has pushed me to
another level both personally
and on a business level and I
am very excited to see the
other side. providencebagel.
com —Casey Nilsson
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2020 53