Narragansett Kitchen & Bar Has Landed at T.F. Green

The new Narragansett Kitchen & Bar at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport. (Photo courtesy of Narragansett Beer)

Rhode Island visitors will no longer have to wait long before getting a taste of the unofficial state beer.

In fact, they can sample it right at the airport in the new Narragansett Kitchen & Bar. The restaurant, a partnership between Narragansett Beer and the airport’s concession operator, Grove Bay Concessions, recently opened in Rhode Island T.F Green International Airport and will hold its official ribbon cutting this week.

“Ultimately what we want to do is have a place where people coming into Providence can get a little bit of Narragansett history by having a taproom there,” says Patrick Maguire, director of marketing at Narragansett Beer.

The restaurant, which has been in the works for about two years, is the first time the brand has partnered to host a public location outside its Providence taproom. Diners will be able to experience pub food and classic Rhode Island dishes while sampling the latest Narragansett craft brews.

“Like any good project, there were some challenges and delays. It was going to open last year and had been in the works for a year before that,” Maguire says.

So what’s on the menu? Along with the classic Narragansett Lager, customers can check out a range of styles brewed in the Providence taproom, including the Fresh Catch, Musik Express IPA, Del’s Shandy, Bohemian Pilsner and Atlantic Light. The drink menu also features an IPA from Tilted Barn Brewery, wines by the glass and aviation-themed cocktails.

For food, the menu features pub favorites including smash burgers, mac and cheese, pretzel bites and a fried chicken club. Those looking for more of a Rhode Island experience can sample the local specialties, including calamari fritto misto with cherry peppers, balsamic and lemon, Italian wedding soup, a loaded baked potato soup with chourico onion jam, fish and chips, and a house meatball grinder.

The restaurant will be open from 4 a.m. until the last departure and feature a breakfast menu in the mornings. Chourico also features heavily in the breakfast menu, including a chourico dynamite sandwich with a sunny side up egg.

Maguire says the location will also sell Narragansett-branded merchandise. It’s another way to get the word out about a brand that continues to expand nationwide.

“It’s a very strong East Coast presence, and then different craft markets scattered across the country,” he says. “We just opened up northern California with some distributors last year.”

The restaurant opening isn’t the only thing Narragansett is celebrating this month. Next week, the brewery will mark twenty years since CEO Mark Hellendrung and a group of investors purchased the brand and rescued it from obscurity. Since then, the brand has resumed brewing in Rhode Island, opened a Providence taproom to showcase its craft styles and expanded distribution across the country. Along with California, customers can also find Narragansett in Florida, Oregon, Washington, Michigan and other states.

“In a lot of these places, you have ex-New Englanders who grew up on the brand or their family members have it or have heard about it,” Maguire says. “They find it out in these markets and it’s a little piece of home wherever they may be.”

In December, the company will celebrate another milestone — 135 years since six German immigrants founded the original Narragansett Brewery in Cranston in 1890. Maguire says the business plans to break out some vintage brewing recipes in honor of the anniversary.

“It’s a packed year this year,” he says.

For those who can’t wait for the celebration, they’ll be able to grab a pint of ’Gansett on the way out to their summer travels.

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