S&L bar in Providence aims to create a pleasant and fun atmosphere in which everyone can feel involved. Photography by Edelinda Baptista
When you enter Sport and Leisure Bar On Providence’s North Main Street, which first catches your eye: the half-canoe shelves, the green Tiffany and Co. basketball or the Providence Friars Men’s Basketball banner hanging proudly? These are just a few of the many attributes that set the new neighborhood sports club apart.
J, one of the partners who oversees operations at the Sport and Leisure Bar, is pleased the bar has seen so many visitors since it opened, but he’s not surprised. “We’re just those guys,” he laughs. “We’ve set the new bar for the city’s drinking establishments.”
The official opening of the S&L Bar took place on Wednesday, June 15, the day before the Boston Celtics game against Golden State Warriors. J states that the night could not have been a better introduction to the new bar and restaurant in the area.
“It was something that hadn’t been seen in the city for a while, there were different generations of people,” says J. “Here you can get a $70 cooler full of beers that come out with sparkling and make you feel like you bought a $2,000 bottle of champagne.
Want to see sparks fly? Items delivered to your seat with sparklers also include the small Gatorade cooler, Tito’s vodka, peach schnapps and, if it’s someone’s birthday at midnight, a slice of cake with sparklers is brought to him for a festive beginning of his solar return.
“We just want to create a nice, fun atmosphere that everyone can feel a part of,” says J. The $40 Gatorade cooler can be shared among four people and last well into the night. “If someone just asks ‘Can you bring my drink with sparklers?’ that’s cool too.
S&L Bar prides itself on being open about how customers can just be themselves and be comfortable. “You can dress up on a Friday night, but if you want to come with just shorts and a cool t-shirt and sneakers, it always goes with the theme and the chandeliers and the cute stalls and other things we have” , says J. “Get dressed, get dressed; it works both ways.
Take a long look around the sports-style bar and you’ll notice a new detail every time. J and his partner spent four months straight, ten to twelve hours a day, installing hooks under the bar, along with the quirky camouflage cabins, the stag’s head protruding from the stone fireplace and the gold accents of the bar matched to the deejay cabin.
Along with the atmospheric playlist that blasts hits from the 80s through 2000, S&L Bar aims to bring in DJs from out of state to introduce new sounds and talent to the city’s capital, as well as placing the bar on the radar of potential guests visiting the state.
Try the Asian Street Chili Cauliflower Bites and Zesty Street Corn Nachos to go with the passion fruit margarita.
If you walk into the S&L bar just for the elegantly stocked drinks (the passion fruit margarita is exceptionally refreshing), stick around for the food. Led by veteran chef Kenneth Pates, the kitchen features meal choices like Asian Street Chili Cauliflower Bites to Spicy Street Corn Nachos and the S&L Burger – made with lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese and S+L sauce – which add to the bar and restaurant experience.
Not to mention, Sunday brunch begins July 10 from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a menu of morning favorites like cereal pancakes, chicken and waffles and more. Send a direct message to S&L at instagram to reserve your spot.
The S&L bar is open from Wednesday to Sunday. 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. for all your midweek or weekend needs. Sport and Leisure Bar, 108 North Main Street, Providence, instagram.com/sportandleisurepvd
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