Rhode Island breathed a collective “Oh no!” during the first two days of March 2024, when the news that East Greenwich’s beloved Finn’s Harborside suffered a fire after a Friday night service. The Water Street restaurant has been a favorite for both visitors and locals looking for a gorgeous view and seaside eats, as well as dock-and-diners who could pull their boat into a slip and settle in for succulent lobster rolls, chowder and crispy clam cakes, linguine and clams, burgers, fish tacos, cold beer, and cocktails.
Owners Carole and Mark Finn were in New York City celebrating her Leap Year birthday that weekend. When they returned on March 1, they received a 10:45pm phone call from their son Connor, a manager at the restaurant. “He said I needed to come to the restaurant because it was on fire,” recalls Mark. “It’s probably one of the worst phone calls you can get besides someone passing away.”
The Finn family has owned the building, which was built in 1880, since the late 1960s. “We rented the restaurant to Jerry Fain for 42 years and when the lease ran out at the end of 2012, we started running the restaurant.” It quickly became a family affair. Carole ran special events, son Connor went to the University of New Hampshire for hospitality before coming aboard, and daughter Taylor did everything from waiting
tables to supervising.
“It was a devastating moment for our family, our employees, and our customers who have made this restaurant a second home,” the family said in a statement released shortly after the fire. “Finn’s has always been more than just a business to us – it’s our family’s livelihood, a place where memories are made, and where generations have gathered to enjoy great food and the beauty of the waterfront.”
No one was injured in the fire, and that was “the silver lining,” says Mark. It started in a small section of the restaurant, in the grill exhaust on the north side of the building. “So most of the restaurant was not affected,” he says. “We never considered not getting the restaurant back to operating again. It took longer than normal because many things that were grandfathered in had to be brought up to code. We didn’t have any major changes in mind, just minor ones like new flooring, new HVAC, and fresh paint.”
On a recent Friday afternoon, there is little evidence that the fire ever occurred. Customers in Helly Hansen shirts and Vineyard Vines caps belly up to the bar or venture out to sit in the sun on one of two outdoor patios overlooking Greenwich Cove. The food is better than ever, with hearty portions of fresh seafood claiming center stage. Lobster lovers delight in simply prepared rolls with minimal additions so as to let the tender shellfish shine. Fried shrimp gets a kick from a spicy remoulade, and cod bites play the role of baby fish and chips. Cocktails and the beer and wine selections run the gamut from simple to snazzy.
Regular Karen Pajak of Cranston has been enjoying Finn’s since she moved to Rhode Island from New York in the mid-80s, and she couldn’t be happier Finn’s is reborn. “It was called Harborside Lobstermania back then,” she recalls. But since the reopening, she’s getting her fill. “In the last week, I’ve been there three times. It’s kept its charm. It’s my comfort zone.”
38 Water Street, East Greenwich
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Chanty
It’s bizarre that two RI restaurants BOTH named The Harborside burn down in the same year and both reopen this year—one in East Greenwich and one in Block Island—and both of them were located on WATER STREET. Only in Rhode Island, I guess…!
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