In the Kitchen: Chicken Yakitori
June 14th 2022
In the kitchen today, we welcome Chef/Owner/Culinary Director Rob Pirnie. He oversees restaurants including Back 40 in North Kingstown, Union & Main in East Greenwich, Black Oak Kitchen in Coventry, and Evie’s in Westerly. Today he is making Chicken Yakitori with Cilantro Lime Jasmine Rice and Pickled Cucumber & Radish Slaw.
Ingredients
Diced chicken thigh
Water Soaked Bamboo Skewer…
Olivia Culpo opens new East Greenwich restaurant with family
Apr 13th, 2022
Olivia Culpo returned to Lil’ Rhody to open her newest restaurant with her family. Union & Main is located on Main Street in East Greenwich. We caught up with Olivia and the culinary team to learn all about it!
Watch the video on the Rhode Show, WPRI 12
Olivia Culpo’s celebrity status lures diners to new restaurant but real star is the food
Apr 20th, 2022
EAST GREENWICH — Last week, Olivia Culpo brought the spotlight to the opening of Union & Main, the town’s newest restaurant. But it will be the food and atmosphere that will attract, and keep, diners in the long run. The restaurant is the second with Culpo’s investment, but the third in Rhode Island for the core ownership team of Justin Dalton-Ameen and Josh Culpo, a cousin. Part owners include Olivia, her father Peter Culpo, culinary director Rob Pirnie and Gina Mercurio Martin.
Dalton-Ameen and Josh Culpo, both with roots in Rhode Island, started with Lulu’s in Allston, Massachusetts in 2014. The group opened North Kingstown’s Back 40 in 2017 with Olivia and her father. Then Black Oak in Coventry opened in 2019. Next up is Evie’s in Westerly later this year.
What’s cooking with Olivia Culpo? Beauty queen talks about new RI eatery, other projects
Apr 13th, 2022
EAST GREENWICH — Only the red carpet and the spotlight in the sky were missing on Tuesday when Olivia Culpo appeared for the official opening of Union & Main. This is the second restaurant she’s opened in Rhode Island by teaming up with her father, cousin Joshua Culpo and their business partner Justin Dalton-Ameen. They opened the Back 40 in 2017. Union & Main serves creative coastal cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner from a scratch kitchen at 455 Main St. “It’s a family restaurant, and for me that is the cherry on top,” she said.
Union & Main: Featured on VisitRhodeIsland.com
Apr 1, 2022
The menu features “elevated American comfort food,” said Justin Dalton-Ameen, one of the owners. Josh Culpo is the other main partner but his cousin, Olivia Culpo, is part owner as is Peter Culpo. Travis French is head chef and the kitchen will focus on fresh – ”as ‘scratch kitchen’ as possible,” Dalton-Ameen said, with housemade pasta and even some breaks. On the menu, they offer pastas, fish (“beautiful fresh rare tuna,” he said), burgers, meats, salads and small plates. Read More at VisitRhodeIsland.com
Diner’s Update: The latest Rhode Island food, drink, restaurant and dining news and events.
Apr 7th, 2022
Union and Main is now open on Main Street in East Greenwich, serving coastal comfort cuisine, including short rib ragu, sesame-crusted tuna, fish and chips burgers and more. They also have a breakfast menu with breakfast pizza, short rib poutine the Main Street hash and Monkey Bread French toast. Read More at RIMonthly.com
Olivia Culpo’s Union & Main brings ‘creative coastal cuisine’ to R.I.
April 4th, 2022
The model, actress, and entrepreneur is a Rhode Island native with a flair for eclectic fare.
EAST GREENWICH — She may be used to runways and red carpets, but Rhode Island’s own Olivia Culpo — a model, actress and entrepreneur — seemed just as comfortable (if not more so) Tuesday at the grand opening of the town’s newest restaurant, Union & Main.
This is the second restaurant in which Culpo, a former Miss USA and Miss Universe, has invested. She is also co-owner of Back 40 in North Kingstown, which opened in 2017.
Between greeting guests and posing for photos, the Cranston native, who lives in Los Angeles, sang the praises of her restaurant partners — her dad, Peter, cousin Josh Culpo, Justin Dalton-Ameen, Gina Martin, and Rob Pirnie — and the eatery’s culinary team.
We Brunched At The Brand New Casual Eatery On Main Street In East Greenwich
March 7th, 2022
Ran into someone I used to work with at Nordstrom Providence Place yesterday at the just-opened-a-week-ago Union & Main on Main Street in East Greenwich (the former home of Red Stripe) yesterday. Keep in mind this person’s always been on their game as far as what’s NEW and exciting in Rhode Island.
Tbh, I didn’t even realize the restaurant had opened their doors yet, until someone on IG dm’ed in the morning and highly encouraged me to go.
I do LOVE that you can call in advance and put your name in for a table. It’s not a reservation in the traditional sense per se, but if it means no hour long wait for a table (so done with that), then huzzah!
And the completely reimagined space — think sleek and minimalist without being at all cold aesthetic — was buzzing after 1pm on Sunday afternoon.
Dining News: Union & Main Opens; Clementine’s Is Moving
Mar 1st, 2022
Navigating the opening of a new restaurant in the midst of a global pandemic has its challenges, as the owners of Union & Main learned all too well. But it can be done – the new restaurant at 455 Main Street opened its doors Saturday after 14 months of construction and waiting, waiting and construction. The owners, Grampo LLC, gutted the space, most recently occupied by Red Stripe, which closed nearly two years ago, creating a brand new look – lighter and more open. Grampo is the same group behind Back 40 in North Kingstown and Black Oak in Coventry.
The menu features “elevated American comfort food,” said Justin Dalton-Ameen, one of the owners. Josh Culpo is the other main partner but his cousin, Olivia Culpo, is part owner as is Peter Culpo. Travis French is head chef and the kitchen will focus on fresh – ”as ‘scratch kitchen’ as possible,” Dalton-Ameen said, with housemade pasta and even some breaks.
On the menu, they offer pastas, fish (“beautiful fresh rare tuna,” he said), burgers, meats, salads and small plates. Dalton-Ameen said his dad is a vegetarian so they make sure there are items on the menu for vegetarians too. They can also modify dishes to accommodate food allergies. While this is a place to go for food, Dalton-Ameen said, there are several local and New England beers on tap as well as craft cocktails and a wine list that won’t strain the wallet on offer. The back room that many may remember is still there, with a couple new windows adding some light. It features a full bar. Dalton-Ameen said it will be quieter in back, so maybe better for date night and certainly nice for a party.
Union & Main is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. That’s right – they are open for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner. The kitchen will stay open late, so you can get a meal at 11 p.m. on the weekends if it strikes your fancy. The restaurant has some parking on site as well as space in the Crestar lot at Liberty and Greene streets, a block away. They will offer valet on weekends. Find out more at their website HERE.
Read More at EastGreenwhichNews.com
Food News: Cinder in Westerly, Audrey’s Coffee House and Lounge in South Kingstown, Union and Main in East Greenwich
December 30, 2021
The team behind Back40 Food & Drink in North Kingstown and Black Oak Kitchen & Drinks in Coventry brings a new gastronomical experience with Union and Main. They’ve completely reimagined the old Red Stripe building, with a 25-person bar now commandeering the front room and a cozy, more private 13-seat bar in the back (“great for dates,” advises co-owner Justin Dalton-Ameen). The build-out took an unexpected turn when they removed the drop ceiling and exposed the building’s original 15 footer. “We were able to bring back the old charm of the original building,” says Dalton-Ameen.
An experienced culinary crew from Back40 and Black Oak designed the New England comfort food menu, with some familiar items given a unique twist, like pickle-brined wings. Their progressive craft beer program features New England-focused independent craft breweries, including local faves like Tilted Barn and Grey Sail.
Read More at SoRhodeIsland.com
New Restaurant – ’Union & Main’ – To Open In Red Stripe Space
May 12, 2020
It may feel pretty grim at the moment, with filled hospitals and stay-at-home advisories, but things are looking up for 2021. Of course there are the vaccines, which should be widely available by late spring. On a local level, that’s well timed for the anticipated opening of Union & Main, a new restaurant planned for 455 Main Street, home of the former Red Stripe.
It’s the project of the Grampo restaurant group, the same people behind Back 40 Food & Drink in North Kingstown and Black Oak Kitchen and Drinks in Coventry. Yes, Olivia Culpo – Miss Universe 2012 – is one of the partners.
The group first considered the space back in March, soon after Red Stripe closed, eager to open in East Greenwich. But COVID-19 restrictions had just been instituted and things were just too uncertain.
“When everything got shut down in March, we didn’t know what was going to happen. It was the great unknown,” recalled partner Justin Dalton-Ameen. With their other two restaurants closed, Dalton-Ameen said they decided they just couldn’t take on a new venture then. “We put the brakes on it,” he said.
After a positive summer at both Back 40 and Black Oak, they learned the Red Stripe site was still available and they went for it.
“Our plan is to blow it all out and do a complete reimagining of the space,” said Dalton-Ameen. Think white subway tiles, more open space, a bar in the front and one in the back room. Read More at EastGreenwhichNews.com