Changes Coming Soon to Track 15 Food Hall in Providence
Two vendors are leaving and will be replaced with one newer and one already established concept.
The interior of Track 15. Photo by Ian Barnard.
Giusto PVD and Mother Pizzeria PVD are moving out of Track 15 food hall in Providence. They will be replaced with Grumpy Pies and Yagi Noodles. Giusto and Mother are vacating to refocus on the Newport flagships, according to a prepared statement from Track 15. The new vendors have a great history. Yagi Noodles has a following in Newport and has earned recognition from the James Beard Foundation with a 2024 Semifinalist nomination for chef Basil Yu for Best Chef: Northeast. And Grumpy Pies is a new business started by chef Ian Cappelano, formerly of Mother Pizzeria. He is spinning off from Mother to sling his own Roman-style party pizza.
Mother’s last day at Track 15 will be Sunday, March 29, and Giusto’s last day will be at the end of April. The decision to not renew the Providence locations was difficult for Kevin O’Donnell, chef and owner of Giusto and partner at Mother Pizzeria. “It was an incredible honor to have been part of this landmark project and to bring a little taste of Newport to Providence,” he says. “We are grateful to the Marsella family for their support throughout this journey and to our fellow restaurateurs for their camaraderie.”
Chef Basil Yu of Yagi Noodles.
The Marsella family is very excited to offer the two new options at Track 15. Especially since one of the businesses supports a former team member at Mother. Cappelano will launch Grumpy Pies inside the food hall on April 2. Guests can order whole or half pizzas, or by the slice. Cappelano will use the same Marra Forni oven used by Mother, but he will expand on pizza by serving other options using wood-fired techniques. Grumpy Pies will hold a soft opening on Wednesday, April 1 with cooking demos and sampling for guests.
“I am excited for the opportunity to open Grumpy Pies at Track 15,” says Cappelano. “Not only does it fulfill a dream of mine, but it will showcase an underrepresented style of pizza in a vibrant space. In a state with a long tradition of other styles of bakery pies, I’m looking forward to bringing ‘pizza alla pala’ to the forefront of the pizza conversation.”
Track 15 chef Ian Cappelano of the new Grumpy Pies.
Meanwhile, Basil Yu, co-owner of Yagi Noodles, has been wanting to expand the brand to Providence. “The timing could not be better for us to take advantage of this opportunity to join our friends at Track 15 and bring Yagi Noodles to a broader audience of locals and visitors to Rhode Island,” Yu says.
Mother Pizzeria, Giusto, Yagi Noodles and Grumpy Pies are all connected. Where two businesses exit, two more gain opportunity to launch or expand. “The strength of the culinary community here in Rhode Island – something we’ve strived to showcase since we opened our doors – is what brought us to this moment,” says Track 15 owner Chris Marsella. “Kevin not only had Ian as part of his talented team at Mother here in Providence, but it was he who first introduced us to Basil almost three years ago…and then it was Basil who brought us Chef Alp of Tolia. Only in Rhode Island can this happen. It feels like kismet to be able to welcome another Newport institution like Yagi here into the Track 15 family in Providence. We’re excited for this next chapter.”
