When you’re scanning your options for food while strolling through an airport terminal, a certain kind of resignation sets in. A sandwich shop chain. You know the name of the burger stand, but you’ve never been thrilled about it. Perhaps a bar with heat lamps serving nachos. The majority of people simply eat whatever is closest to their gate without giving it much thought. That’s the way airports operate, or at least how they used to.
At T.F. Green International Airport in Rhode Island, something is changing, and it has a distinct fresh seafood scent.
On April 28, Spring House Seafood Grill celebrated its grand opening. Nestled in the North Terminal close to Gate 11, it instantly stood out from the surrounding area. Grove Bay Concessions created the idea through a licensing deal with the Spring House brand, which is closely associated with the historic Spring House Hotel on Block Island, one of those weathered, serenely lovely New England locations that locals cherish. It’s a peculiar source of inspiration for an airport restaurant, but that’s precisely what makes it intriguing.
The 1,900-square-foot venue, which can accommodate 85 people, does not aim to compete with other full-service dining rooms in the city. It is aware of what it is. The menu features fresh seafood, lobster rolls, and traditional dishes that don’t require reimagining to be delicious, all of which are inspired by the Rhode Island coast in a way that feels earned rather than performed. It has a laid-back vibe, or at least that’s the plan, and based on the initial responses from both visitors and residents, the execution appears to be hitting the mark.
The opening was framed by Grove Bay Concessions CEO and co-founder Francesco Balli with the goal of providing newcomers with “a true sense of place” as soon as they arrive in Rhode Island. Airports are frequently the first and last impression a place makes, so that’s a reasonable goal, but it’s also the kind of statement businesses make without always following through. In this case, there is at least a plausible claim that the idea fulfills it. Block Island is one of those places where people have an emotional connection, and it’s more difficult than it seems to translate that emotion into a concessions setting without completely losing it.
Of course, it’s still early. Grand openings have a tendency to generate excitement that doesn’t always last. Compared to their street-level counterparts, airport restaurants must contend with a different set of challenges, such as constant turnover, harsh margins, and a constantly shifting clientele. It remains to be seen if Spring House Seafood Grill can sustain its identity and quality under such daily pressure.
However, there’s a sense that a restaurant genuinely attempting to reflect where it is matters more now than it did in the past, given how airports have grown increasingly interchangeable and forgettable. People are sick of leaving a location and moving right into areas that could be anywhere. The coastline of Rhode Island is something to be proud of. It has a rich and distinctive culinary culture. It is not insignificant that a traveler could sit down close to Gate 11 and get something that genuinely tastes like the state they have just left or are entering.
Spring House Seafood Grill serves breakfast starting at 5 a.m. and switches to an all-day menu at 10:30. Perhaps no one anticipated that PVD’s most talked-about new opening would be located inside the terminal. However, here we are.
