Providence Coal Fired Pizza Opens Second RI Location on Post Road

The only restaurant offering coal-fired pizza in Rhode Island has brought their fare to the former 007 on Post Road.

By Mark Schieldrop, Patch Staff | Dec 10, 2014

A typical pizza oven runs between 500 to 600 degrees, similar to a wood-fire pizza oven.

In the world of pizza, that's considered low-temperature cooking. 

Burn some coal instead and the heat will increase to 900 degrees -- which makes for much faster cooking and a unique flavor and texture that only rapid, high-heat can create.

With the opening of Providence Coal Fired Pizza at 6106 Post Road in North Kingstown recently, pizza fans and aficionados alike can finally sample a coal-fired pizza without driving to their Providence location -- along with wings, ribs and perhaps a splash of cold beer.

Three years after opening their first location on Westminster Street in Providence, Providence Coal Fired Pizza is fired up now that their lengthy and extensive renovation is complete and their custom-build ovens are up and running.

"We completely gutted the restaurant down to the exterior walls, including a new kitchen and remodeled and refurbished both the interior and exterior due to our unique needs," said General Manager Mike Santos.

The same designer behind their first location, Libby Slader, went to town on the new North Kingstown spot. 

Inside are custom booths, seats, a pizza bar, two dining rooms and a function room.

Outside, the structure suggests something a little more upscale, with a black star above the door fueling an orange and red flame.

Inside, the main feature of the restaurant -- the coal-fired ovens built by Wood Stone Corporation -- are immediately apparent, due to their massive size. Wood Stone built the oven specifically for the restaurant. In fact, the restaurant was really built to accommodate the oven, which is just one of three of this size made by the company.

The oven burns authentic Pennsylvania anthracite coal, which is clean and ideal for cooking. 

The high heat means short cooking times, which means more time for prep and pouring over the ingredients, which will be locally sourced and freshly prepared, according to the owners.

Along with pizza and pub face you might expect from a place with eight TVs and outdoor beer garden, there will be a chance to make your own pizza with recipes and ingredients from local farms selected by Operating Partner David Bertolini and his team of chefs.

"We are very excited about this second restaurant. We have had a great response from patrons looking for us to bring our brand to North Kingstown and thanks to our success of our Providence location, it has allowed us to take what we have learned and do it bigger and better," Santos said. 

The restaurant has had a few "soft" openings and will officially open with a grand opening on Dec. 15.