Newport Restaurant Group is marking 30 years as an employee-owned company this year, saying it has distributed roughly $33 million to employee-owners since 1996.
The company employs about 1,900 people, roughly 1,100 of them year-round with another 800 added in peak season. It reports annual turnover of 12 to 14 percent, against an industry average it puts near 110 percent. For employees with more than 20 years, the average ownership account balance is about $606,000.
“In most corporate settings, decisions are made for the benefit of either the shareholder or employees, very rarely both,” said President and CEO Mick Lamond. “In our case, the shareholders are the employees.”
Chief People Officer Kristin Allain said the shift toward year-round full-time work reflects the company adding restaurants in Rhode Island and Massachusetts that operate outside the summer season, and that many seasonal workers have moved into full-time roles.
The company traces to 1925, when it was founded as Newport Oil Corporation supplying fuel for the city’s bus service. It now runs 17 restaurants, a hotel and event venues, including Castle Hill Inn, The Mooring, 22 Bowen’s, Bar ‘Cino, La Vecina and Smoke House in Newport, J.T. Commons in Middletown and the Boat House in Tiverton.
The group plans to open Avvio Ristorante in Millbury, Massachusetts, in late fall.
The company says its 30th anniversary coincides with national Employee Ownership Month in October, and it plans internal events and a refreshed website telling the ownership story.
