Dining News

Sliding Into Federal Hill

Harry’s Bar & Burger opens a second location on Atwells

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At Harry’s Bar & Burger, good things come in pairs. While they offer dogs and other sandwiches, those in line on North Main on a WaterFire night are mostly there for burgers with their beer, two sliders at a time. Eyeing those lines, their brisk business, and the plaudits they’ve won since opening, it’s understandable Harry’s would be looking to duplicate that success. The newly opened Harry’s on Federal Hill sets out to do just that.

Part owner, general manager and namesake Harrison Elkhay is no stranger to restaurant openings. His father’s company, the Chow Fun Group, has several successful restaurants in the state. Normally their experience building on existing res- taurants has involved reevaluating concepts that aren’t as successful as they liked, and finding the right new direction and concept. This is very different. With Harry’s, it’s a matter of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Harrison said that Federal Hill was the natural choice for their second location. In addition to the vibrant community and food culture already in play, he felt there was “nothing like Harry’s in the area.” When a prime spot at 301 Atwells presented itself, they jumped on the opportunity. Conscious of the formula that worked so well at the original, the new location has the same capacity: just shy of 50. According to Harry, and at the risk of making him sound like he’s one of those people who speaks in the third person, “Harry’s is about delivering quality in a fast, easy spot and this means both a smaller, intimate space with a small kitchen where it’s easy to be efficient.” If you tried to graft the same concept to a larger space, “it would lose the appeal.”

This is no franchise though. They want everything people like about Harry’s, but they don’t want a clone. While the menu is mostly the same, they will have offerings unavailable at the other location, and in a nod to the neighborhood, currently they are playing around with putting a meatball sandwich, chicken parm and even a ravioli slider into rotation in the future. The interior of the new place is a little warmer with a lot more wood, and while it’s still 100% Hereford beef in your slider, there’s not as much cow on the wall as the North Main location.

Harry, along with his father and sister, worked on decorating the interior, and did so with a haul from the Brimfield Antique Show in Massachusetts. Like most antique show attendees, I’m sure he didn’t go in thinking “Indonesian Wedding Hall Chairs” but that’s what he got, along with mirrors from an old iron works in New York City, with beautiful hammered copper frames and a wooden barn door. The new location also has a shuffleboard, which is what you’re ready to play as a drinking game, now that you’re too urbane for ping pong balls and swill. They also had the opportunity of making operations a little easier and service a little quicker with far more storage. With more bar and less dining room, you’ll be able to get to your craft brew faster. If instead you are there for a hard float – which combines the creamy, comforting goodness of a milkshake, with the alcohol of an alcohol – servers will have an ice cream dipping well close at hand.

Harry's Bar and Burger
301 Atwells Ave, Providence
228-7437

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