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- Olneyville New York System has requested liquor licenses for its locations in Providence and Cranston, Rhode Island.
- The Providence Board of Licenses is reviewing the application and community feedback, citing concerns about the restaurant’s late-night role as a place to “sober up.”
PROVIDENCE – Late nights at Olneyville New York System may look different soon if the hot wiener restaurant is approved for liquor licenses at its Providence and Cranston locations.
The popular eatery has been a Rhode Island staple for decades, serving up burgers, fries, coffee milk and, of course, hot wieners. On May 29, the restaurant appeared before Providence’s Board of Licenses, requesting permission to begin serving liquor and to renew its existing license for late-night food service.
The board voted to continue its review of the application on June 5, but it may decide to extend that process over additional weeks while it considers the proposal that Olneyville New York System submitted, as well as community feedback.
“That’s a location that people have used for a really long time to sober up,” said Dylan Conley, the board’s chair. “Does adding alcohol to a location historically used to manage alcohol’s effects cause any unique problems?”
Those are the kinds of concerns the board intends to evaluate, he explained. Conley added that he isn’t aware of any existing establishments in the city that serve food late at night and are also authorized to carry liquor, so it’s an unconventional application.
Olneyville New York System’s fourth-generation owners, Greg Stevens and Stephanie Stevens Turini, sold the business to Newport’s Heritage Restaurant Group earlier this year, and Stevens said that pursuing a liquor license is something that Heritage initiated.
“We’ve been operating 80 years the way we do,” Stevens said. “I think they’re just looking to maybe explore options for future ideas.”
How would a license change things?
Olneyville New York System’s Providence storefront is currently open until 2 a.m. most nights, except for Fridays and Saturdays, when they close at 3 a.m.
If re-approved for the late-night operating license, the business would be able to serve food until 4 a.m., though Stevens said they do not intend to change the hours. The Cranston location closes by 10 p.m. most nights and has not released any plans to change its hours.
Under Rhode Island law, alcohol service can’t continue past 2 a.m. For that reason, according to Conley, the Providence restaurant proposed that it would end dine-in seating and alcohol orders at 1 a.m., then take food orders from the outside window for the rest of the night.
If the business is granted approval for its license requests, they could theoretically begin serving liquor and staying open late that same day. However, it’s more likely that they’ll need to spend several days or weeks making changes to meet building and fire code requirements, said Conley.
A hearing for the Cranston location’s liquor license request is scheduled for June 2.
Is there opposition to letting Olneyville New York System serve alcohol?
Councilman Oscar Vargas represents Providence’s Ward 15, where the Olneyville wiener joint is located. He’s against granting Olneyville New York System a liquor license, citing concerns that many patrons arrive at the restaurant intoxicated, and it could be unsafe if they have the option to continue drinking.
“When people go out, they go to other bars and then the last stop is at New York System to get a hot wiener and coffee milk. Then they go home,” he said. “I got surprised to see their name looking for a liquor license. That’s a totally different ballgame for the community.”
Vargas added that the area around Plainfield Street is already full of bars, with the half-mile strip home to about 10 establishments that serve alcohol.
