Nana's expands into Westerly as Grass & Bone closes in Mystic
Mar. 28—WESTERLY — When one door to a butcher shop and meat-focused restaurant closes, another door to a bakery and pizza place opens.
At least, that's the case for the team that operates the recently closed Grass & Bone and the recently opened Nana's in Westerly.
The owners of Grass & Bone said in a Facebook post on March 14 that after "an incredible 5 years," they "decided to close Grass and Bone in its current form for a little while, and focus on the opening of Nana's Westerly," which opened last Friday.
The original Nana's Bakery & Pizza opened Oct. 30, 2020, in Mystic, tucked away behind Sea Swirl along the Pequotsepos Cove. The new location is at 82 High St. in Westerly, with the entrance off the parking lot adjacent to Longo Ristorante & Pizzeria.
While the Mystic location is primarily takeout, with just a few seats, the spot in Westerly seats 21 and has table service, though visitors can still order online or at the counter.
With the skylight and light-colored wood, co-owner James Wayman said they wanted to maintain the same "light, bright, open" vibe as in Mystic. The menu concept is similar, with sourdough doughnuts and breads made from freshly milled grains.
The beverages use beans from Canyon Coffee, and different lattes incorporate elements such as turmeric, coconut-miso caramel and spiced ginger syrup.
But even though the locations are just eight miles apart, there's a regional difference: The pizza with clams at the Westerly location is made in the style of Rhode Island chowder, with tomato sauce, rather than New England style. The Westerly location also has a full liquor license, which the Mystic site doesn't.
Head baker David Vacca and Corey Lein, who is running the kitchen in Westerly, are now part of the ownership team along with Wayman and Aaron Laipply.
Sitting at a table at the new spot Thursday, below the works of local artist Sean W. Spellman hanging on a brick wall, Wayman and Laipply said they started thinking about this project a year ago.
Wayman said that Chuck Royce and Dan King — the small-cap mutual fund manager who has invested heavily in Westerly and his son-in-law, who runs the Royce Family Fund — approached them. Royce is vice-chairman of the board of the adjacent United Theatre, and King is also on the board.
"We've known them for years. They've come to all our places in Mystic for quite some time," Laipply said.
Grass & Bone and Nana's used to be part of 85th Day Food Community — which includes Dan Meiser's restaurants Oyster Club, Engine Room and now The Port of Call — but split off last summer. Wayman said it was time to go their separate ways, and focus on the Nana's concept.
"It was a great run together. I think we did a lot for the Mystic community," he said.
Meiser similarly commented, "We had a great run, we had 10 years together, we wanted to go our separate directions."
Wayman said having a butcher shop made sense as part of 85th Day Food Community, but not as much now.
But he said butchering is already a difficult business: It's expensive to buy whole animals, and it requires skilled labor. And then meat costs skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic.
In December, Grass & Bone announced that its butcher shop would close at the end of the month, as it's "just not a sustainable business model," but the restaurant would continue "for now."
While the restaurant portion is now closed as well, Wayman said he still has a lease on Grass & Bone and will "potentially" reopen it in the future.
Wayman also said he doesn't eat as much meat as he used to, and noted there are a lot of vegetables and lighter things on the Nana's menu.
Some of the vegetables and small plates at Nana's include roasted local farm vegetables with fermented honey glaze and pepita koji crumble, cured pork with fermented cocoa nib honey and toasted sourdough, and risotto balls with Calabrian chili crunch and tomato sauce.
The hours are currently Thursdays and Mondays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with brunch until 2 p.m.