Bevi Bar Brings a Tiny Corner of Italy to Providence
The aperitivo bar serves spritzes, wines and Italian beer out of a Tuscan-inspired wine window.
The wine window at Bevi Bar. Photos by Lucio Andreozzi.
Knock three times on the wine window if you want a spritz.
Bevi Bar is a new outdoor drinking and snacking destination in Providence inspired by aperitivo bars in Italy. Located at the former Tiny Bar space on the corner of Richmond and Point streets, the bar is the lime-washed bricks-and-mortar evolution of Bevi e Vivi, a mobile bar that’s run by siblings Alessandra Pallozzi and Lucio Andreozzi, who spent many summers growing up in Italy, their father’s homeland. They based Bevi Bar on their memories of family trips and set out to recreate a similar scene in Providence.
“We have always loved our experiences in Italy as a family,” Andreozzi says. “We love how time doesn’t really exist. It’s all about gathering; it’s all about community and laughing over some cocktails.”
The brother-and-sister duo first set out to deliver a relaxed Italian experience through a 1991 Piaggio Ape. The vintage, mini three-wheeled Italian truck is equipped with draft lines to serve cocktails, beer and wine at private events like weddings, backyard parties, showers and corporate events. “As that idea started to grow, we thought it’d be so cool to have a brick and mortar someday,” says Andreozzi, who is also a celebrity photographer for friends like Olivia Culpo. “And specifically, my sister only ever wanted it to be at Tiny Bar.”
In fact, they were on a trip to Capri when the idea first began to take fruition. “He said, ‘We should open an aperitivo bar in Rhode Island,’” recalls Pallozzi. “And I said, ‘The only place I would ever even consider doing it would be Tiny Bar.’ Then three days after we got home, they announced that they were closing.”
It was serendipitous. They made an offer and the Tiny Bar sale went through. They got the keys late last fall and set about transforming the space in December and January, opening six months later in early June. As a fun feature, Andreozzi and Pallozzi decided to install a wine window in the side of the building. Guests can knock on the window, and be handed a glass of wine or a spritz through the window. The idea comes from hidden Tuscan vineyard wine windows in Italy.
An Aperol spritz at Bevi Bar.
“In the 1500s, wealthy families that had vineyards would use these small openings in their villas to sell wine directly to customers, that way they would avoid the middlemen in taxes,” Andreozzi says. “And of course, as time went on, this turned into something that people use for fun.”
“There are hidden windows all over Italy, and people go there specifically to look for them,” Pallozzi adds.
The way it works at Bevi Bar is a little different than in Italy, because of liquor laws. Guests are invited to sit at tables and order their drinks, and a server will ask if they want a beverage served through the wine window. “If you say yes, you get a token,” Andreozzi says. “Once your drink is ready, you can just bring the token up to the window and knock on it. It’ll open, and then they’ll serve your drink right through there.”
Guests at Bevi Bar also love the special snack sets that come complimentary with the purchase of a beverage.
“The server comes over with a beautiful tray, and then you can choose three bowls of snacks,” he says. “We have cashews, almonds, potato chips, two different types of olives. We also have cornichons, which everyone loves.”
The snack tray at Bevi Bar.
Bevi Bar serves classic Italian aperitivo cocktails starring bitter amaros, like Aperol spritzes, Hugo spritzes with elderflower, and regional Italian wines, Peroni beer and espresso martinis.
The interior bar of the 330-square-foot Bevi Bar has only seven seats, but the footprint extends into the tree-shaded cobblestone courtyard where guests can linger at intimate al fresco tables on the patio. General manager Ashley Rittenhouse loves seeing the excitement around the bar’s opening so far.
The interior at Bevi Bar.
“We have a line out the door at five o’clock. People are having their Euro summer. They get to dress in their linens and polka dots, and cute outfits,” Rittenhouse says. “I see everyone taking their pictures and posting their videos. The sun comes in at the most perfect timing for golden hour.”
The siblings plan to also use Tiny Bar’s glass house for private events, rehearsal dinners, and bridal and baby showers, but also to extend the bar’s footprint into other seasons.
So far, they’ve created a little corner in PVD that feels like an escape to Italy. And they also are known to help out guests looking for recommendations in their homeland.
“We’ve been walking around to different tables during the time that we’re open, and people are saying, ‘We feel like we’re in Italy,’ and honestly, I could cry, because that’s exactly what we want it to feel like,” Pallozzi says.
377 Richmond St., Providence, @bevibarpvd
Wines at Bevi Bar.
