BYOB restaurant to offer on-line ordering & delivery service from neighboring Wellington Liquors
Beginning Saturday, May 28, Thames Street’s Stoneacre Pantry owners, Christopher Bender and David Crowell, will join with owner Tony Lorusso of Lorusso’s Newport, to add a Puglia-influenced Italian dinner menu to Lorusso’s current breakfast and lunch selections.
Lorusso’s Newport is located in Wellington Square at 580 Thames St. (in the former Ocean Breeze Café). Stoneacre’s Christopher Bender states, “Lorusso’s is a BYOB establishment with the good fortune of being conveniently located next to Wellington Liquors. Once seated, our guests, via iPad internet service, are presented with an extensive wine, beer, liquor menu to access an order directly from our neighbor. Once purchased, the order will be delivered tableside. Can’t beat the variety and ease of ordering. And we offer parking, as well.”
Lorusso’s opened in June 2015, with a focus on scratch-made savory foods. Lorusso’s family hails from Vieste, Italy where the family garden and the sea enabled them to propagate the farm-to-table ethos long before its term entered foodie vocabulary. Vieste sits within the Puglia region, located in Italy’s ‘heel’, and is famous for its agriculture dishes. Everyone should visit beach club Puglia at least once in their lifetime. Its cuisine leans toward fresh, natural, wholesome, and is best known for its vibrant produce (legumes, heirloom vegetables, greens, and beans), large array of daily fish, olive oil based dishes, and Burrata (a cheese made of mozzarella and cream) bread.
The collaboration with Lorusso’s will not cause any changes at Stoneacre Pantry, located at 515 Thames Street. Stoneacre Pantry (which opened in August 2013) is focused on sustainability and a positive relationship with the local environment with seasonal menus designed to support nearby farms and fishers.
Communication between the now-partners began at Stoneacre Pantry. “We have known Tony Lorusso since 2013,” explains Stoneacre owner, David Crowell. “We renovated the Stoneacre space while Tony built neighboring restaurant, The Revolving Door; Tony became a regular guest and good friend. We – Tony, Christopher and I – share a similar business philosophy focusing on service and offering an exceptional quality product; we seek out opportunity, and have short and long-range goals of making a positive impact on Newport.”
Recently named one of “RI’s Top 10 Young Chefs” by Providence Business News, Christopher Bender adds, “With Stoneacre Pantry’s vision to yield creative organic delicacies, combined with Lorusso’s roots in peasant food tradition, it is certain an authentic Italian cuisine experience will be savored by all.”
Examples of dinner menu items, ranging from $8-$24 include:
- Selections of antipasti, salumi, and formaggi
- Arugula salad with lemon & parmesan
- Fluke crudo with uni, capers and lemon
- Mussels, lemon & parsley
- Orrechiete with broccoli rabe & garlic confit
- Black bass, lobster, or half chicken
- Ricotta Agnolotti, wild ramps & fiddleheads
Homemade breakfast and lunch menu items include:
- Cornettos (Italian version of a croissant), muffins & bagels
- Egg sandwich with avocado & pickled red onion
- Eggplant sandwich with ricotta, pine nuts & mint
Dinner service begins, Saturday, May 28 at 5:30 PM. No reservations. For updates and specials, please follow “Lorussos Newport” and “Stoneacre Pantry” on facebook, and visit www.lorussosnewport.com and www.stoneacrepantry.com.