There, There is Cooking Up Comfort Food on the West End
The hearty sandwiches are available at the shop, while Dips Provisions offers catering and snacks at Moniker Brewery.
The chicken sandwich and CNY salt potatoes at There, There. Photo by Jamie Coelho.
Sometimes a good meal does just the trick to make you feel better. That’s why chef Brandon Teachout named his new West End restaurant There, There.
“People can come in and have a meal that we put a lot of love and care into,” Teachout says. “It’s that little hug and a tap on the back, like ‘You’re here now.’ We don’t know what’s going on out there, but when you’re here, we’re going to make sure we do everything we can to make it good for you.”
There, There’s comfort food menu diverts slightly from Teachout’s original business plan with his popup mobile eatery Dips Dips, which was named after his spectacular French dip sandwich. While Dips continues to run as Dips Provisions – a stationary operation serving snacks on weekends at Moniker Brewery – There, There is located just a quick walk down the road, dishing out stacked burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, sausages and vegetarian fare. Dip Provisions still provides sustenance in the form of hearty noshes like poutine, chili fries, French onion dip and classic pimiento cheese with crackers. They are also doing seasonal specials like burrata with arugula pesto on grilled sourdough bread. If Moniker guests want a full meal rather than just snacks, they can scan a QR code at the brewery to order food from There, There, and go pick it up down the street.
There, There is redefining the business by offering a simple menu of hefty sandwiches like the T.T. Bird with buttermilk fried chicken, mayo and honeygold sauce and the Dream Burger with two patties, cheese, patty sauce, onion jam and shredduce [shredded lettuce] on a griddled sesame bun. The CNY (Central New York) salt potatoes are also a must, drizzled with pepperoncini butter and dusted with green onion. Teachout also takes pride in lighter fare like a chopped iceberg wedge salad and a kale roll with cornmeal battered kale, tartar sauce, shredduce, smoky pickle relish and a barbecue rub on a griddled brioche bun. “I don’t personally eat a lot of red meat at home,” Teachout says. “I like having fun with vegetarian options.”
Part of the reason for the There, There and Dip Provisions name changes is partly due to inflation. Unfortunately, Dips Dips signature French dip sandwich has been eighty-sixed due to the rising costs of beef. “We were at the point where we would have had to charge $22 a sandwich, and we’re going into that neighborhood, and I live and work in that neighborhood,” continues Teachout, “I wanted to make it accessible for everyone. A $22 sandwich, or even $15 sandwich, isn’t going to do it.”
The chicken sandwich at There, There.
The chef/owner also wanted to let the former Bucktown space dictate the menu. He reflected on its previous life as the West Fountain Spa and determined that what the neighborhood really needed was a version of a greasy spoon. “There, There has always been on the table as a concept we wanted to do. The vision was a dive bar with really, really good food, but when the Bucktown space became available, it muddied the waters a little bit,” Teachout says. “I feel like the neighborhood was ready for something like that but also something a little new. I wanted to take that concept, but push it forward and make it special.”
Thankfully, There, There has already taken off. The team has executed various popup events like a David Bowie-themed brunch, and there will be future collaborations with visiting chefs. They also still do catering gigs with Dips Provisions, using a Johnston commissary kitchen that used to be Conte’s Bakery. Teachout is glad to finally have his own brick and mortar for more stability.
“That was always the end goal. Operating a popup is not the best,” he says. “It’s the lowest cost of entry, but in the long run, it’s like a hamster wheel. It’s really hard to make money.”
While There, There still doesn’t have a liquor license to sell beer or wine (they’re working on it), they are crafting innovative nonalcoholic libations like seasonal housemade sodas created by Sam McCaughey. There’s the Green Babe, a pickled cucumber celery limeade, and Blue Babe, made with Four Town Farm blueberry syrup, lemon syrup, lime and bubbles, plus coffee milk made with Wright’s Dairy Farm milk and housemade coffee syrup.
McCaughey came to There, There from Proclamation Ale and also gained beverage experience with New Harvest. “We’re letting him run with developing a strong nonalcoholic program,” Teachout says. “We’re thinking about how do we make it interesting, and make it delicious and make it us? He has been doing an awesome job running with that challenge.”
471 West Fountain St., Providence, 315-406-3605, theretherepvd.com
There, There is open Wed.-Mon., noon-8 p.m. Dips Provisions is open at Moniker Brewery Fri., 4-9 p.m.; Sat., 1-8 p.m.; and Sun., 1-5 p.m.
