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    Richard Sardella, Patrick Fitzgerald and Kevin Fitzgerald at Sardella’s Newport

    What She’s Having: Sardella’s, the 45-Seat Bistro That Grew Into a Newport Institution

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    Richard Sardella, Patrick Fitzgerald and Kevin Fitzgerald at Sardella’s Newport

    What She’s Having: Sardella’s, the 45-Seat Bistro That Grew Into a Newport Institution

    Blurred still image from October 17 locker room incident at Rogers High School in Newport, Rhode Island

    Principal Placed on Leave After Locker Room Assault at Rogers High; Investigation Finds Systemic Failures

    Sunset over Second Beach highlights Rhode Island, ranked the most romantic vacation destination in the U.S.

    Study Names Rhode Island the Most Romantic Vacation Destination in the United States

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    Blurred still image from October 17 locker room incident at Rogers High School in Newport, Rhode Island

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    Richard Sardella, Patrick Fitzgerald and Kevin Fitzgerald at Sardella’s Newport

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The Newport Folk Festival just added another name The Newport Folk Festival just added another name to its ever-expanding constellation for 2026 — and this one hums in lo-fi.

Hudson Freeman will take the stage Friday, July 24, bringing his bedroom-born folk confessionals to the Fort. At 27, the Brooklyn-based songwriter has quietly built a following that feels less like hype and more like gravity — the kind that pulls you in slow and keeps you there.

Freeman’s latest full-length, is a Folk Artist, cemented him as one of indie’s most absorbing new voices — a songwriter unafraid to stare down modern identity, digital alienation, and the uneasy math of faith. His songs feel handwritten in the margins of a restless generation.

Born to Evangelical missionaries, Freeman’s origin story reads like a coming-of-age indie film. At 13, his life veered hard when his family relocated from suburban Dallas to the Kingdom of Eswatini. The rupture left a mark. So did the holy trinity of influence — Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, and the DIY sprawl of his college years in Springfield, Missouri. The result: a lo-fi folk artist forged in Midwest basements and late-night doubt.

Now, his breakout track “If You Know Me” is widening the circle. It’s a moody collision of bedroom pop, slowcore hush, post-emo ache, and folk minimalism — stitched together by a looping guitar riff and mantra-like lyrics that burrow deep. It doesn’t shout. It lingers.

At Newport — a festival built on reverence for storytelling and reinvention — Freeman’s arrival feels less like a booking and more like a moment. The next chapter of indie’s quiet revolution may just begin on a Friday afternoon by the water.

#newportfolkfest #newportbuzz #newportri
Nearly 46 years ago on Gooseberry Beach, Richard S Nearly 46 years ago on Gooseberry Beach, Richard Sardella and two of his former fraternity brothers hatched a plan to open a bar in Newport. Less than a year later, a 45-seat bistro called Barclay’s opened its doors on Memorial Boulevard.

“I guess we thought it sounded Newport-ish,” chuckled Richard Sardella. But as an Italian restaurant, the title didn’t quite fit, and by 1986 it relaunched as Sardella’s Italian Restaurant.

As a regular at Gooseberry, Sardella became acquainted with the Fitzgerald family and their seven kids.

“I’d offer to buy a hot dog for someone if they went to the snack bar for me and they’d all come running!” he recalled. Within just a few years, starting as dishwashers, Patrick and Kevin Fitzgerald became integral members — and eventually shareholders — in the Sardella’s Restaurant company. Today, Patrick serves as vice president and Kevin as executive chef.

Early on, Sardella took the two to visit his Italian family on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Both those trips proved to be inspiring,” he said.

“Richard took us to Jersey City, which is just like Italy,” Patrick quipped. “His Italian aunts taught us how to really cook. After that, he took us to meet the aunts on the Sardella side in Frosolone, Italy. They taught us how to really eat.” The lessons also shaped the restaurant’s philosophy of hospitality.

“I never want to turn a table at Sardella’s. It’s not in our DNA. You could sleep over!”

Despite challenges, the business has grown from 45 to 400 seats. Sardella roars with laughter as he recounts, “The first time we grossed $1,000, probably in 1982, we opened up a bottle of Dom Pérignon!” Today, he muses, that sum wouldn’t open the doors.

And it’s Mr. Mayor to you: Sardella served for 21 years as Director of Athletics at Brown University, was elected to the Newport City Council in 1995 and as mayor in 2000.

All while the restaurant continued to evolve. He left office in 2005. Today, his namesake joins the Clarke Cooke House as one of just two longstanding Newport restaurants still owned and operated by their original proprietors.

Comment “Pasta” for the full article.

#whatsheshaving #newportbuzz #newportri
Happy Thursday, February 12th! Here’s What’s Happe Happy Thursday, February 12th! Here’s What’s Happening In and Around Newport Today.

@newport.mansions @newportcannaco @sardellas_Italian @sardellas @diegosnewport @wharfsouthernkitchen @hookednewport @tavernonbroadway @thequenchernewport 

#NewportRI #NewportBuzz
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