Traveling Soon? Here’s Where You Can Sit Down with a Familiar Cuppa Across the Pond

Photography courtesy of Kassondra Cloos

I stumbled upon rhode island coffee by chance a few years ago. I grew up in Pawtucket and was feeling homesick after a big move to London, so I Googled “Rhode Island, England” on a whim. Imagine my surprise when I came across not one, but eight coffee shops named after us, all in small towns in northwest England.

“Have you ever been to Rhode Island? If not, you’re missing a treat,” says the company’s “About” page. I nodded in agreement. “Think of the famous Newport Folk Festival, a coastline dotted with lighthouses and fisherman’s piers, endless forests and beautiful wild scenery. It’s the antithesis of the big city. Friendly, welcoming people —”

Wait a second. Have they ever been to Rhode Island? Who are all these friendly people?

The Warrington Rhode Island Coffee cafe sports a cozy, welcoming vibe. Photography courtesy of Kassondra Cloos

I needed to investigate.

So, I journeyed up to Warrington, a Providence-sized town between Liverpool and Manchester. On my walk from the train station, I saw quite a few echoes of home: The industrial plant next to the train tracks reminded me of my own exit off Interstate 95. The defunct Warrington Transporter Bridge, like our own Crook Point Bascule Bridge, is permanently stuck in an upright position. There’s even a racing lounge called McCoy’s.

The local Rhode Island Coffee is across from a Taco Bell and adjacent to a Tudor-style pub nearly twice as old as the United States. Inside, I spotted portraits of our state quarter and a Slater Mill postage stamp.

Photography courtesy of Kassondra Cloos

Photography courtesy of Kassondra Cloos

For some background, I called Ravi Ruia, the company’s managing director, whose father, Raj, founded the company twenty-five years ago. Raj had a vision to build a lower-cost, smaller-town alternative to Starbucks, and it needed a name. He’d been to Rhode Island once and liked it, so “Rhode Island Coffee” it was.

The company has plans to make itself significantly Rhody-er in the next few years, Ravi says. They’re planning a research trip to the Ocean State, and hope to bring coffee milk to this side of the pond.

Without a hint of irony — he hadn’t heard about the “Cooler & Warmer” debacle — he spoke of the “warmth” of Rhode Islanders.

Photography courtesy of Kassondra Cloos

Even still, something about it feels like the sort of place you’d find on the East Side, with soft chairs, a generous book swap and a community room for local clubs. Most customers were having conversations or reading books. I didn’t see any laptops.

There’s something else they’ve gotten right, too: “The people from Rhode Island seem to take real pride in where they’re from,” Ravi says.

As someone who spent an entire day traveling to a town I’d never heard of, just so I could spend two hours in a place named after my home state, I think it’s safe to say he’s nailed us on that one. rhodeislandcoffee.co.uk