Thayer Street restaurant Durk’s Bar-B-Q closed its doors on Dec. 22, marking the end of the establishment’s three-year run on College Hill.
The restaurant’s management decided to move to downtown Providence in order to be accessible to more customers, Stefanie Carr, managing partner of Durk’s, wrote in an email to The Herald.
“We need to be in a space and neighborhood that are able to grow with us,” she wrote. “We will be announcing our new location soon!”
The restaurant will reopen at its new site in spring 2020, and Carr is excited to see some familiar faces at the restaurant’s new home. “Our goal is to be open before graduation so our loyal Brown students, faculty and their families can come celebrate with us!” wrote Carr. “We are so grateful to all of our fans and loyal regulars,” she added.
Carr informed The Herald that fans of the restaurant can get their fix of Durk’s at local bars and breweries in the interim period as they undertake their move. Pop-ups featuring the restaurant’s ribs and mac’n’cheese will appear at on-campus favorite the Graduate Center Bar along with off-campus locations including the PTX Lounge, Long Live Beerworks and others across Rhode Island. The establishment’s catering service will also be in operation until the shop opens their new location, catering for events of up to 450 people.
Many Brunonians frequented Durk’s, and some were saddened by the restaurant’s decision to relocate, including Nina Hastings ’22. “The ambiance is really great, and it’s awesome food, too,” she said. “It was such a great location to walk to and very convenient for family visits.”
Hastings said that she will certainly make the trek to visit Durk’s when it opens up at alternate locations across Rhode Island and hopes that the new permanent restaurant will be close enough for frequent visits.
It is not yet clear what will take Durk’s place at 275 Thayer St. Donna Personeus, executive director of the Thayer Street District Management Authority, wrote in an email to The Herald that “there has been a lot of interest in the location.”
“Once a letter of intent is signed by a new tenant, it can take 6 to 12 months for the new tenant to open their doors,” she wrote.
Until the new storefront opens up, students can get their fix of buffalo wings, slow-smoked brisket and pulled-pork sandwiches at pop-ups across the state. Durk’s is scheduled to appear at the GCB on Feb. 29.
