Served with a smile

From the counter to bar, the people who turn favorite places into beloved experiences

Photos by Dave Hansen

There are more than 100 restaurants and bars in Newport, but a rare few are inseparable from the personalities that seemingly bring them to life; the people the place simply wouldn’t be the same without. They lift your spirits, offer a smile or lend an ear, and inevitably send you back out into the world a little lighter.

Some can be closely counted as friends; others are simply friendly, familiar faces that somehow allow you to escape it all, even if just for a meal or soothing sipper. Newport Life sat down with a handful of folks who help shape the character of the places they work.

Lisa “Joy” Miller

CRU Cafe

“I love my life,” says Lisa “Joy” Miller, hands down the most familiar smiling face at CRU Cafe from the day it opened on Casino Terrace in 2016. Donning her signature oversized glasses and a pair of funky, fantastic, often “themed” earrings, Miller has a fandom that spans generations— literally. From tiny tikes to the elderly, Miller charms the clientele by taking time to get to know everyone by name.

“It’s an amazing gift from God,” she says about her uncanny recall for names. “It’s a lot of practice. It’s a lot of work.” Part of her process is remembering something identifiable about each person. “‘That’s Peter; he has a dog. That’s Rob; he drives cars.’ I know a narrative about everybody,” she says, laughing. “I talk to everyone for a minute or two, even when the line is long.”

Longtime locals might know Miller from the five years she spent at Brick Alley Pub, or the 15 years she could be found at Flo’s Clam Shack. Originally from Long Island, New York, she moved to Newport in 1995 with a resume already steeped in serving experience. She commuted to work at a pizza restaurant at just 15 years old, following an even earlier start as her grandmother was in the deli business. Miller knows long nights, but these days, prefers the breakfast and lunch crowd at CRU.

Most shifts at the cafe start at 6:45 a.m. with coworker hugs before unlocking the doors. “I come to work every day happy,” she says. That vibe is how she adopted the name “Joy,” which some customers only know her as. “I turn into ‘Joy’ at work because I’m full of it and I’m spreading it,” Miller says. “I’m kind no matter what, because you don’t know what’s going on in someone’s life.”

Tim Towey

Midtown Oyster Bar

With nearly 40 years of experience under his belt, Midtown Oyster Bar’s Tim Towey is one of Newport’s most beloved barkeeps. The Newport native (“Born and reared on Bedlow Avenue — I’m an uptown boy, a First Warder,” he says proudly) graduated from Rogers High School (Class of 1982) and went on to work at the members-only Newport Reading Room on Bellevue Avenue and the Irish American Athletic Club on lower Thames Street. His reputation behind the bar expanded at the legendary Christie’s Restaurant, which closed in 2006, and later at the Newport Yachting Center.

Towey left the hospitality industry in the late 1990s for a position at St. George’s School, where he stayed for a dozen years, until his department was dissolved. The timing, however, was serendipitous. “I came here when Patrick Kilroy and his business partner Larry bought Salas’ and I was invited to join the team. We opened in 2013,” says Towey. “I almost had to relearn the trade because it had changed so dramatically from the ’90s. It went from bartending to mixology. There were no craft cocktails back then. Rosemary lavender simple syrup? That was unheard of!”

It wasn’t hard getting people in the door when Midtown first opened, he recalls. “We were the bright shiny toy everyone wanted to get a gander at.” But cultivating a consistent clientele takes time, determination, and dedicated people. “It was a lot of work to get this brand going and to keep it going,” Towey explains, but one by one he, along with his coworkers and management, won people over.

To date, he has about 200 orders from regulars committed to memory. “That’s how you identify people in this business, even if you don’t know them,” he explains.

Towey also credits the restaurant’s success to its broad-based appeal. “We accommodate so many different types of guests; every demographic gets covered here at the Midtown,” he says “We kind of made this place into the new Christie’s. All walks can come in, all are welcome … we give a good pour here for a good price.”

Anchoring the gateway to lower Thames Street, Midtown has become a buzzy destination, and Towey a daytime staple on the main floor bar, a.k.a. Timmy Towey’s Tavern. Even during its busiest times, including festival, parade, and holiday weekends, Towey’s jovial demeanor keeps the peace and promotes patience. “You gotta keep yourself happy first and foremost, and then it just permeates the rest of the environment as long as everybody is in the groove, no matter how in the weeds you are.”

Towey enjoys going to work, where he says it’s key to be a “showperson.”

“No matter how much burden you have in your personal life or in your back pocket, check that at the door when you clock in, because it’s showtime. … It goes back to colonial times in this town. It’s a social lubricant — the tavern, the pub. It’s a gathering spot, a social area, and we like to try and keep it that way,” he says.

Dan Sylvester

Audette

After nearly 30 years, fine dining institution Bouchard Restaurant raised eyebrows when it rebranded to “Chantelle” in 2023, then was reintroduced as “Audette” in early 2025 by the successful team behind Thames Street Kitchen (TSK) and Mission. But longtime loyalists were comforted that a handful of people they’d come to know through decades at 505 Thames Street were along for the ride, including dining room captain Dan Sylvester, who has led the white tablecloth restaurant for 18 years.

Sylvester’s hospitality career in Newport started three decades ago at the Hotel Viking. He honed his bartending skills and became manager and head waiter at the beloved but since-closed Asterisk & Obelisk before becoming head waiter upstairs at The Clarke Cooke House. Those experiences deepened his knowledge of elevated cuisine, particularly French classics, and wine from around the world. So, when Audette’s Chef de Cuisine, Jasmine Watson, introduces new dishes alongside ones long associated with Bouchard, Sylvester is quick to recommend a perfect pairing, whether a craft cocktail or unexpected wine.

“I love French whites. I love French Bordeauxs — I have some great Bordeauxs here — and white Burgundies are some of my favorite whites … but I’m a big Cab person,” he says.

Sylvester also helps diners choose dishes, using his knowledge of the menu’s history and classic French ingredients to an advantage. “It’s changed over the years, but there’s always been a vol-au-vent on the menu, which is a square of puff pastry. We’ve done lobster vol-au-vent; my daughter still makes me make that for her,” he says. “We changed it to a mushroom vol-au-vent [at Audette], so inside the pastry is a porcini mushroom bechamel with freshly sauteed wild mushrooms.”

“The knowledge is there, and yet, he never considers he knows best for you. He simply makes a suggestion,” says Carmen Ratoi, a front of house fixture and co-owner with chef-husband Chad Hoffer as well as chef Tyler Burnley and his wife, Anna. Ratoi joined Bouchard’s just six months after Sylvester, along with Maxime Putier. The trio is the throughline of dining experience there.

“He’s one of the roots of this restaurant,” Ratoi says of Sylvester. “He’s somebody we look up to, the person that offers the service we aim to create for each guest. And yes, he’s one of the most charming and well put together, most polished.”

Outside of Audette, Sylvester is much loved and admired in an entirely different role: he’s coached middle school boys basketball in West Warwick for 32 years. It’s a passion that’s the continuation of a family legacy. His late father, whose coaching career spanned 41 years, was the winningest high school basketball coach in Rhode Island. Sylvester has seen former players grow up, marry, and even become parents. “I see them out at bars,” he says with his signature laugh.

Ratoi says with Sylvester and Putier in the house, she can sleep well at night knowing the restaurant is in good hands and the bar is set by Sylvester’s signature serving style. “He can speak with any type of person, from someone who has never been to a fine dining restaurant to a person who only goes to fine dining restaurants,” says Ratoi. “He’s the one who transforms first time customers into regulars.”

Joe Lalli

Cappy’s Hillside Cafe

For 38 years, Joe Lalli has been a well-loved fixture at Cappy’s. Typically found behind the bar, its humble general manager is quick with a joke and a friend to many. “It’s the people, the people who come here, who make the place popular,” he explains. “When you come in, you’re a stranger, but after a while, it’s like you’ve been here the whole time. People just fit in when they come here.”

The late John Cappuccilli Sr. opened the Hillside Cafe on Sept. 21, 1938, the day the ’38 Hurricane devastated Newport’s waterfront but failed to deter friends from gathering at the new watering hole and drinking beers by candlelight in the darkened city. Cappuccilli’s son inherited the neighborhood bar and later sold it to Newport residents Brian and Debbie Arnold in 1987.

Now Newport’s second-oldest bar, behind only the White Horse Tavern established in 1673, Cappy’s is a popular gathering spot for locals and home to an ever-growing collection of treasured photographs, memorabilia from classic Newport sporting events, police and fire patches from far and wide, military flags, and no shortage of New York Giants swag.

The Giants were New England’s football team when the Cappuccilli family owned the bar; the Patriots didn’t make their debut until 22 years after it opened. Despite the rivalry between the two teams, Lalli — a lifelong Giants fan — warmly welcomes and graciously serves everyone on game days.

“[Patriots fans] watch in the back, on the TV in the kitchen with rabbit ears,” he jokes.

A father to three daughters, Lalli has a group of regulars he has served since his first day on the job. Newer patrons are equally appreciated. “There are still people who are like, ‘I didn’t know this place was here,’ and they’ve been in Newport for years,” says Lalli. “And I say, ‘Have a seat’.”

The pandemic was the only time in its history that Cappy’s was closed for an extended time. Dark for 15 months, the period proved to be a challenge for both patrons and staff, as the bar is a popular place for local fundraisers, unofficial school reunions, extended wedding celebrations, post-funeral gatherings, parade day pints, and so much more. “It proved how important it is to be around people,” reflects Lalli.

A little more than a year after reopening, Cappy’s introduced expanded kitchen service with a well-rounded menu offered Fridays through Sundays. The addition has brought in more families and consistent diners, says Lalli, who credits the Arnolds, fellow staff members, and patrons with creating the welcoming spirit that has spawned Cappy’s multi-generation clientele.

“The place is great, and Brian and Debbie do a great job,” says Lalli. “People come here to be together.”

Ronda Wojcik

The Red Parrot

With more than three hundred seats across three floors and two bars, The Red Parrot clocks in as one of the largest restaurants in Newport, and during her 18 years there, Ronda Wojcik has done every job under its roof.

“I’ve plunged that toilet. I’ve washed those dishes. I’ve jumped behind the line,” says Wojcik, who continues to do whatever’s needed in the 33-year-old restaurant located at the corner of
Thames Street and Memorial Boulevard. Built in 1898 as a meat packing house, it’s been home to numerous establishments through the decades.

Wojcik landed at The Red Parrot while taking a “short” break from her career in pharmaceutical and medical sales. Restaurant work put her through college, she says, so it was familiar territory. Before she knew it, the place felt like home.

Working alongside other long tenured staff offers a synergy that only comes with time. An assistant general manager at The Red Parrot has been employed there for 20 years, a lead bartender for 22 years, a bar manager for 17 years, and a kitchen manager for 15 years.

The number of staff swells during the busiest months of the year. New hires, in capable hands, quickly learn the ropes and share the camaraderie at the restaurant. That’s the “X-factor” that gives diners not just a good meal, but a memorable experience, Wojcik says.

“I hate the word ‘boss.’ I prefer to be a leader, because your staff will sacrifice for a leader when the leader will sacrifice for them” she explains, “and knowing somebody has your back gives you the confidence to go out there and sell the product the way it needs to be sold, and give the customer the attention that they deserve, that they’re spending their hard-earned money on.”

“If you have a strong leader that will help you, and protect you, and teach you, you will provide excellent hospitality.”

While locals are the backbone of Newport’s hospitality industry, Wojcik is delighted to welcome familiar faces that make just an annual or semi-annual visit to The Red Parrot. “I have a group that comes every year, I’ve seen them probably for 12 years. Jazz Fest weekend, they sit at the bar, have a lobster martini without fail,” she says, laughing. “As I see the ticket go through, I’m like, ‘Ah! Bob’s here!’ and I’ll run down.”

As such a large restaurant, The Red Parrot can accommodate every dining scenario, from large families with tons of children to groups of girlfriends to romantic date nights. “The amount of engagements I’ve seen in this building is wild. Wild!” Wojcik says.

With her experience, leadership, and much appreciated sense of humor, The Red Parrot runs like a well-oiled machine, but Wojcik won’t take credit for that.

“We’re a family — it’s a second family. If something goes wrong with them and they need to leave, there’s not one point any one of my management team would not step in to wait tables to cover them,” she says. “We are a team, and that’s what I’m most proud about working in this restaurant.”