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Trips Abroad

Mystic carves a niche in island signs — and beyond

Michael Schroeder

Thu, Jan 24

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Trips Abroad

The Mohegan Café. Water Street Inn. Harborside. New Shoreham House. Seacrest Inn. For anyone who’s been to Block Island, these signs are hard to miss. And one of the reasons is the unique signage created by Cameron Bortz and his team at Mystic Hand Carved Signs. Bortz has been creating signs for...
South County Sound offers personalized service

Cassius Shuman

Fri, Jul 27

Category:

Trips Abroad

Seventeen years ago, business took Mark Gagnon to Block Island. After that fateful visit he “made the decision to be on the island weekly, year-round,” servicing his customers’ needs, he said. Gagnon owns and operates South County Sound and Video in Wakefield, an installer of commercial and...
Wakefield Liquors

Michael Schroeder

Fri, Jun 29

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Trips Abroad

Wakefield Liquors takes great pride in the process of selecting wines by sampling dozens each week to create a unique selection of name-brand items as well as lesser-known boutique wines. The friendly staff is happy to assist customers in making a selection just right for every occasion, whether it...
‘Passion for satisfaction’ at Ocean State Hearing

Michael Schroeder

Thu, Apr 26

Category:

Trips Abroad

Rapid changes in technology are making it easier, more economical and more effective to counter the effects of hearing loss — and a firm right off the boat is committed to delivering those results to their clients. “Over the next two decades the hearing aid industry will bring about dramatic...
Dove and Disttaff

Michael Schroeder

Thu, Dec 28

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Trips Abroad

Alpaca—stylish, soft and warm—has a home in Wakefield at Dove and Distaff, Visitors can conveniently see and feel quality yarns, fibers and goods right here—all of the alpaca products come off their own farm in Matunuck. It’s one of seven showrooms within Dove and Distaff, which was born of an...
On the mainland... Paul Masse dealerships

Fraser Lang

Fri, Sep 29

Category:

Trips Abroad

This is a great time to buy a new car or truck and a visit to either of Paul Masse’s dealerships in southern Rhode Island is worth the trip. The Buick/GMC dealership on Route 1 near the tower is housed in a relatively new and spacious building appropriate for these high-end brands. When you enter...
On the mainland... Pasquale’s

Fraser Lang

Fri, Jun 23

Category:

News, Trips Abroad

When I say “authentic,” I really mean it. Pasquale’s, A Pizza Napulitana, is the real deal. Pasquale’s is located in South County Commons in Wakefield, but its roots are in Italy. Owner Pasquale Illiano was born and raised in Naples. That’s where he leaned to cook and perfected his techniques. A...
On the Mainland: Inside Style

Fraser Lang

Sun, Apr 30

Category:

Trips Abroad

Lee Chartier, owner of Inside Style in Wakefield, wins your confidence right from the start. She is warm, knowledgeable and open. Her trademark approach is to work collaboratively with clients, getting to know what they are comfortable with to transform a space that reflects their tastes with her...
On the Mainland: Rawlings Floors in Wakefield

Fraser Lang

Sat, Mar 25

Category:

Trips Abroad

You get a warm welcome when you enter the door at Rawlings Floors at 241 Main Street in Wakefield. Mark and Richard Zambarano, who own the business, set a high standard for customer service. It obviously works; it’s why they have so many repeat customers. The brothers have seen lots of changes in...
Bed and Bistro in Narragansett

Fraser Lang

Sat, Dec 31

Category:

Trips Abroad

If you find yourself off-island on a weekday and need a place to stay, you should head straight to The Bed and Bistro in Narragansett. The nightly rate for islanders is only $75 during the off season and during the week. In fact, at any time of the year, Block Islanders get a $25 discount...
Trips Abroad: Lathrop Insurance

Michael Schroeder

Fri, May 27

Category:

Trips Abroad

“We love Block Island.” John Lathrop, the owner of Lathrop Insurance Agency in Westerly, is effusive in his praise after years of dealing with island residents and business owners. It all started back in the early ‘70s, when Adrian “Tiny” Sprague and his wife, Barbara, called John’s father about a...
Highland Farm

Michael Schroeder

Fri, Apr 29

Category:

Trips Abroad

Back in 1996, there was only a single greenhouse “to grow some flowers and make a little money” for his sister, who had recently retired from Electric Boat. Now, Highland Farm, run by Jack Sumner and his sister Martha, is a 30-acre complex with seven greenhouses — and that’s only part of the...
The bank on the Block

Fraser Lang

Sat, Mar 26

Category:

Trips Abroad

When I worked for The Spring House in the early 1960s, I occasionally had to do some banking business for the hotel. That would require taking a trip to the credit union located in the building that now houses The Darius Inn. As I recall, that credit union was open very limited hours. In the late ‘...
Paul Bailey's has history of quality service

Arline Fleming

Sat, Jun 27

Category:

Trips Abroad

Maureen Bailey, daughter of Ernest, who established the roots of today’s Paul Bailey’s Chrysler Jeep Dodge RAM dealership at 425 Ten Rod Road, North Kingstown, recalls her father accepting chickens —and one time a cow—as payment at this Lafayette Village location. Ernest Bailey opened a small...
Trips Abroad: Dog trainer Matt Betts

Cassius Shuman

Fri, May 29

Category:

Trips Abroad

Matt Betts once worked in his family's autobody shop, but realized that training dogs was his calling in life. Today, Betts owns "K9 Instincts," a dog training, breeding and kennel facility located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The company's 5,000 square foot warehouse features a kennel and training...
Trips Abroad - The Cooked Goose

Bob Stiepock

Sat, Feb 28

Category:

Columnists, Trips Abroad

"The restaurant business is the hospitality business," says Jennifer Gibson. Jenn and her husband, Andrew Nathan, own The Cooked Goose, a popular restaurant in Westerly. Jennifer sat down after moving among the customers, chatting with them, while occasionally checking something with the wait staff...
Trips Abroad: Valenti Subaru-Toyota

Bob Stiepock

Wed, Feb 26

Category:

Trips Abroad

They’re baaaaaack!! Toyota automobile sales increased by 12 percent and Subaru sales by 30 percent between 2012 and 2013. And they’re expecting similar increases by the end of 2014. Bruce Morrow, general manager of the Subaru side of the Valenti Subaru Toyota dealership at Dunn’s Corners in...
Trips Abroad — PrintSource

Kari Curtis

Wed, Jan 29

Category:

Trips Abroad

When driving through Wakefield, you have probably noticed PrintSource, a small, family-owned business that resides in a white house with a cheery yellow front door on Main St. Although PrintSource has been in operation since 1977, it’s been in its current location since 2005. When you call or stop...
Trips Abroad: Paul Masse Buick/GMC South Kingstown

Bob Stiepock

Thu, Oct 31

Category:

Trips Abroad

Bob Masse is General Manager of the South Kingstown Paul Masse car dealership. Bob is fun to talk with. An easy smile emanates from a pleasant, open face that rests atop a fullback’s body (actually, he was a linebacker at Hendricken High before he went on to Bryant). The fun part is that on a laid-...
Trips Abroad: Kingston Auto Sales in Peace Dale

Bob Stiepock

Thu, Oct 3

Category:

Trips Abroad

The shiny, cherry red Audi parked out front might suggest a high-pressure setting. Nearby, though, is a rather small, unimposing sign, Kingston Auto Sales and Service. In maroon letters on a brown background, this sign is a far more accurate indication of the atmosphere at this car sales and repair...
Trips Abroad: Critter Hut

Bob Stiepock

Thu, Sep 5

Category:

Trips Abroad

Walk into the Critter Hut pet store and you’ll soon be greeted by friendly people, including Kit and Bob Champlin, who have owned and operated the store for the past 38 years. But it’s very likely you could meet Harley first. Just follow the sound that’s a cross between a screech and squawk. That’...
TRIPS ABROAD The Sea Goose

Thu, Aug 1

Category:

Trips Abroad

Aulay Carlson should do an infomercial. Head Chef at The Sea Goose restaurant in Westerly, Aulay is telegenic. Forget that he’s a handsome 40-something with a Brad Pitt-style goatee; when he talks about The Sea Goose restaurant, he’s captivating. His demeanor rises quickly from affable to excited...
Trips Abroad: Wakefield Liquors

Thu, Jul 4

Category:

Trips Abroad

As the familiar catchphrase would have it, “This is not your father’s liquor store.” The only nod to tradition or convention is the sign in block letters above the entrance: Wakefield Liquors. “ Out of respect and admiration for my father and mother, I kept the name just as it was when...
Trips Abroad: The Glass Station

Bob Stiepock

Thu, May 30

Category:

Trips Abroad

As you admire the glass artwork, the striking shapes and colors among myriad designs in Eben Horton’s Wakefield store, The Glass Station, you’re asking yourself: How does he do that? Well, Eben’s workshop and furnace are just a few feet away from his display room, so he showed me how he...
Trips Abroad: Jerry's Hardware in Narragansett

Bob Stiepock

Thu, May 2

Category:

Trips Abroad

“Jerry, you’re nuts. That’s nuthin’ but a cart path.” “That’s what they told my grandfather when he decided to build a store on Route 108 in Narragansett,” recounts Rob Ferraro. “Well, that was in 1950. Today, 17,000 cars a day move through the 108 intersection at Woodruff Avenue. In midsummer, it’...
Trips Abroad: Morronne Electric in Westerly

Bob Stiepock

Wed, Apr 3

Category:

Trips Abroad

Lew Gaffett was getting ready to buy some appliances and remembered someone suggesting he try Morrone Electric in Westerly because the prices were fair, the service good and the people very nice. “That was 20 years ago,” says Lew, “Since then I’ve done a lot of business with them and that advice...
Trips Abroad: Lathrop Insurance Agency

Bob Stiepock

Thu, Feb 28

Category:

Trips Abroad

John Lathrop smiles. “Does Lathrop Insurance do much business on Block Island? Yes, we do, and it all started with Fran Lathrop back in the mid-’70s.” John chuckles. “ My dad, Fran, loved a challenge and our very first piece of business on the island was just that.” John explains that Barbara...