Latest Washington Bridge Failure Fallout: A Top Providence Restaurant Will Now be Closing
GoLocalProv Business Team
Latest Washington Bridge Failure Fallout: A Top Providence Restaurant Will Now be Closing
The Salted Slates was popular on the East Side for a decade. PHOTO: GoLocalProvAnother business in Wayland Square in Providence is now closing.
As GoLocal reported on Saturday, Minerva’s Pizza shut its doors this weekend, after decades at its location on South Angelo Street. It pointed to the RIDOT Washington Bridge failure as a chief reason.
Now, the Salted Slate on Wayland Avenue is closing at the end of the month.
According to owner and chef Ben Lloyd, business was down roughly 20% following the closure of the bridge in December.
The popular “farm to table” restaurant had been open for ten years.
“Cooking food is often a bigger endeavor than we tend to think. Whether we are harvesting blackberries or a lamb, these products have taken years to develop and grow. It’s our job to highlight and draw out the best qualities of every ingredient that comes through our doors while utilizing every part of them,” wrote Lloyd on the Salted Slate's website. “We do not take our role lightly at The Salted Slate: we do not cut corners, we do not compromise.”
The upscale restaurant was popular with the East Side — as well as East Bay diners, who would need to come over the Washington or Henderson Bridges.
"They just disappeared," said Lloyd of people coming into Providence.
Lloyd says he plans to maintain his other business in Wayland Square — Providence Wine Bar — as well as The XO Bar on North Main .
Bridge Cost Unclear — Timeline of Years
At a March 14 press conference, McKee and Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti unveiled a report from McNary Bergeron & Johannesen, headquartered in Colorado, which identified the cost of removing the failed Washington Bridge and building a replacement at $250 million to $300 million.
The cost of the impact to Rhode Island businesses — and Rhode Islanders — however is monumental.
From the immediate school closures and holiday functions cancelled in December, workers and organizations are continuing to feel the impact of the monumental failure.
In March, the Providence Marathon cancelled this year’s races, citing the close of the bridge.
