Grace’s Stuffies Channel Ocean State Nostalgia

Following a long career in education, including over a decade as an administrator, Cheryl Ursillo happened upon an unexpected phenomenon after entering retirement, as foretold by a saying her father used to express: “I have nothing to do and all day to do it in.” Ursillo explains, “It was always funny when he said it – and then all of a sudden, you become your parent and you find yourself in that stage of life.”

Rather than letting her free time stretch into days filled with nothing to do, Ursillo hatched a plan. Motivated by the memory of her mother making stuffies for holidays and special occasions, she started tossing around the idea of recreating that nostalgia. “A lot of people who had eaten my mother’s recipes over many years encouraged me to [make them], and what they didn’t know was that I had already thought about marketing them.” 

Ursillo dove into the ins and outs of starting her own business, attending a Sam Adams-led seminar in Providence covering everything from marketing to research and development, and gleaning insights from The Big Idea, a book on making entrepreneurial dreams come true by Donny Deutsch. Through courses on starting a food business, she learned that she didn’t need to have her own manufacturing company, and when she found one that was a good fit to recreate her unique product, the stars aligned for Grace’s Stuffies to come to fruition.

“I thought Rhode Island deserved a stuffie that was really, really good,” says Ursillo, remarking on the delicacy’s staple status here, where quahogs are the state shellfish. With Grace’s Stuffies, you can see the seafood chunks in each shell, and the filling is moist and buttery, not overly bready. Ursillo took a hands-on approach to developing and scaling the recipe from the batches of 36 her mother would typically make to just under 1,200, working closely with the manufacturing facility to ensure each four-ounce, hand-scooped portion of savory stuffie filling was consistent, and that it tasted just like her
mom used to make.

Adding slightly sweet bay scallops to the clam mixture and Margherita pepperoni instead of chourico, Ursillo explains that her mother’s recipe is an Italian version of the Portuguese stuffie many are familiar with. “As I always say, variety is what makes life interesting,” she notes. “It’s not to say that one is better than another – it’s just different.” 

It’s clear that Rhode Islanders agree. The four-packs of frozen stuffies fly out of the freezer cases of stores around the state. When it comes to marketing, Ursillo is a people-person. “I’ve just gone out and found customers of my own,” she says matter-of-factly, whether that means calling grocery stores, offering samples, or handing out her business card to customers. “People are often intrigued,” she says. “They’re surprised that the person who owns the company would take the time to meet the customers and share my story.” 

What was once a tradition in Ursillo’s home is now a centerpiece in many families’ holiday dinners and backyard barbecues. She’s even fulfilled requests shipping them as far away as Florida and California from folks wanting to gift a taste of Rhode Island to their loved ones who have moved away. Says Ursillo, “My mother would be so touched to think that she has had a place at so many tables and that her recipe was shared among so many people in all different places.”

Find Grace’s Stuffies at statewide grocery stores and markets, including Shore’s Market in Cranston and North Providence, Market Basket, McQuade’s Marketplace in Westerly and Jamestown, and many others. GracesStuffies.com