The Rogue Way
Farm-to-table, on purpose.
A scratch kitchen that buys from local farms and brewers first — because that's how the food and the beer end up tasting like Rhode Island.
Our philosophy
We're a "scratch" kitchen: we cook from raw, local ingredients instead of opening boxes. We source from regional farms and Southeastern New England breweries and distilleries, supporting the local food system over corporate suppliers. The menu changes with what's actually available — which is the whole point.
Led by Chef Ryan Bessette, the kitchen keeps things easily relatable: approachable food, done right, paired with beer that comes from down the road. Casual room, real hospitality, serious sourcing.
Local first
From the farms that grow our produce to the brewers we plan new releases with, our partners make the concept possible — and it shows on the plate. It's farm-to-table that means it.
Thirteen years in The Arcade
We opened in 2013 and have cooked here every year since — through renovations, recessions, and a pandemic that closed dining rooms across Rhode Island. When COVID shut the state down, we kept doing what we could: making donations to the city workers who kept Providence running through the darkest days of it. Coming up on 13 years in, that's the kind of track record that doesn't come from a menu — it comes from staying open, staying local, and showing up for the neighborhood that's shown up for us.
What the Rogue Way means
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Scratch Kitchen
Sauces, biscuits, pasta, pickles — made in house from raw ingredients, not opened from a box.
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Local-First Sourcing
Regional farms for produce, Aquidneck Farm for beef, Narragansett Creamery for cheese, and SE New England breweries on tap.
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Real Hospitality
Walk-ins always welcome, a relaxed 90-minute table, an outdoor patio with booth seating, and a room that's as easygoing as the food.
Who's cooking
The people behind the pass
Community
We compete for the kids every year
Rogue On The Rhode — our food truck and an extension of the Rogue Island kitchen — competes every year at Hogs for the Cause, the barbecue competition and fundraiser that helps families cover the real cost of a pediatric brain cancer diagnosis: medical bills, travel, and the everyday expenses insurance doesn't touch.
We compete as House of Hogs, one of the event's longtime teams. Chef Ryan Bessette has served as House of Hogs' Head Chef for more than eight years — his dedication and contributions to the team are priceless, and his passion for food and hospitality are next to none.
In 2025, our booth took Best Booth honors and the whole House of Hogs team raised $102,811 for the kids that year alone. Across every year we've competed, our best estimate is that the Rogue Island family itself — our crew, our regulars, and our sponsors — has contributed between $325,000 and $425,000 of the money raised.
The full story, our booth, and the sponsors who make it possible →Put your money where your mouth is
Approximately $2 million spent with regional farms, fishermen, and brewers since 2013
"Farm-to-table" is easy to print on a menu. Based on our own food costs and vendor mix since opening, our best estimate is that Rogue Island has spent approximately $2 million with Rhode Island and Southeastern New England food and drink producers — farms, fishermen, brewers, and purveyors — over our first thirteen years. Of that, an estimated 25–30% goes directly to Rhode Island-based businesses, with 75–85% staying inside New England overall.
Vendors like Aquidneck Farm (grass-fed beef), Narragansett Creamery and Cabot Creamery (cheese), and Tony's Seafood in Warren (day-boat seafood) aren't marketing partners — they're people we've bought from since year one. Craft beer is its own category entirely: a New England-brewed tap list, poured every service since 2013, adds up to a relationship worth well into seven figures on its own.
These are our own estimates from thirteen years of invoices, not an audited figure — but they're the most honest read we have on what "local first" actually costs, and where that money goes.
The work behind the room
Built — and rebuilt — by hand
From the original 2013 build-out to the renovations since, this room has always been a hands-on project. These shots are from our renovation work — hover a photo (or tap it, on mobile) to see the same spot today.
Our story
From The Arcade's reopening to today
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The lease is signed
Chef Ryan Bessette signs the lease inside The Arcade and lays out the concept — a scratch kitchen built on local farms, breweries, and distillers. Construction starts right away: seven months of hands-on build-out.
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The Arcade Providence reopens ↗
After a five-year renovation, America’s oldest indoor shopping mall reopens in downtown Providence — with Rogue Island’s build-out already underway inside.
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Doors open
After seven months of construction, Rogue Island soft-opens inside The Arcade — the first meals served under the Rogue Island name — with full service ramping up in the new year.
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The Providence Journal takes notice ↗
The Journal’s opening review calls Rogue Island “all urban chic and locavore smart” — the first big write-up of the new kitchen in The Arcade.
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The Steel Yard builds out the patio ↗
A patio Ryan first sketched on a napkin at Foam Brewers in Burlington, Vermont becomes real: he handed the drawing to Tim Ferland of The Steel Yard, Providence’s industrial-arts nonprofit, which fabricated custom steel planters and hop boxes. Installed that spring, the whole project wrapped by summer.
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Full dining returns post-COVID
After a patio-only “Phase One” reopening that spring, Rogue Island reopens for full indoor and outdoor service under state COVID guidelines.
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1st Place at Hogs for the Cause ↗
Rogue On The Rhode takes 1st Place for its Maine lobster roll at the national barbecue fundraiser benefiting families battling pediatric brain cancer — the truck’s flagship credential.
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Ryan Bessette organizes Cheers of Charity at Rogue Island — local breweries and distributors pouring together to raise money for Hogs for the Cause.
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The kitchen gets a $50K makeover ↗
Cambro rebuilds Rogue Island’s cramped two-tier kitchen with new shelving and storage, replacing rust-prone wire racks and reworking the back-of-house workflow.
In the press
What people have written about us
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Providence Business News
Arcade Providence in transition as units are offered for sale, several retail sites vacant
2021
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The Providence Journal
Year in review: 2018 was another delicious year in RI, from brunch to cocktails
2018
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YouTube — Jonathan Browne Menzies
Rogue Island Restaurant & Bar - Arcade Building, Weybosset Street, Providence - Review
2018
- Award
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The Providence Journal
Rogue Island, new Providence restaurant in The Arcade, is all urban chic and locavore smart
2014
Writing about us? Reach Chef Ryan at ryan@rogueislandgroup.com.
Find us
Inside The Arcade Providence
The Arcade Providence — America's Oldest Indoor Shopping Mall — a National Historic Landmark in the heart of downtown, and one of the most distinctive rooms to eat in anywhere in Rhode Island.
65 Weybosset St #108Providence, RI 02903
(401) 831-3733 · ryan@rogueislandgroup.com
Wed · 4–10pm · Thu · 11am–10pm · Fri · 10am–10pm · Sat · 10am–10pm · Sun · 10am–3pm · Mon · Closed · Tue · Closed
Get Directions ↗Two ways to eat with us
Reserve a table, or let us cater your next one.
Walk-ins are always welcome, or book ahead on Toast. Planning something bigger? Rogue On The Rhode caters weddings, parties, and corporate events anywhere in Rhode Island.