Why do restaurants close?

Good day dear readers. I'm Gail Ciampa, your Journal dining editor.

Today's dining news is about four closings.

More: Four restaurants have closed, three in Providence, one in Cranston

I think one doesn't count because the owners of J.P. Spoonems diner in Cranston are retiring after 40 years running the restaurant. They deserve to enjoy their life free of work. But I do think it speaks to the times that they didn't announce they will sell the business. Many restaurants are for sale right now. And as much people love dining out, others don't love working to keep a restaurant going.

I'm not surprised that Siena will not reopen their Federal Hill location. Yes, it was their first, but owner Anthony Tarro has found that his diners live in the suburbs. They are in West Bay near his East Greenwich location and north of the city by his Smithfield restaurant.

People want to eat out where they live. And they are in the burbs. Closing the Providence location will no doubt enable Siena to grow, if they wish, to another suburban location.

I am disappointed that The Grange is no more. I really like dropping in to their coffee bar on my way to work. They always had fabulous coffee and were way ahead of the alternative milk universe, being a plant-based restaurant. I also enjoyed their brunch and lunches. Chef Jon Dille had a very tasty menu.

I well understand that the owners of The Grange have to allot their resources. The Garden Grille and Wildflour Bakery need staff and a third business was one too many in this pandemic economy.

I loved the design of The Grange. It was one of the first to have the rustic, industrial look that is now so common. Kyla Coburn designed a very special place.

I do hope that this will be recycled as a restaurant. It would be a sin to see it razzed for something else.

For every sad story, there is a happy one. That is how an artist has made a career painting elegant signs for restaurants and other businesses.

Shawn Gilheeney and I travel in the same world, I learned when we talked. His Providence Painted Sign company is behind the signs at so many restaurants I have reported on. And his girlfriend is Willa Von Nostrand, one of Rhode Island's best bartenders and an artist herself.

When photographer Kris Craig and I joined Gilheeney in his Providence workshop, it was like a trip down memory lane.

I hope you enjoy reading this story about how a fine artist found a meaningful career.

I don't mind feeling stupid if it means I learn something new.

That's how it is today.

Until I opened up the new edition of Bostonia, my Boston University alumni magazine, I had no idea why the word "swag" was used to mean free things. I could have pursued it with a google search or by asking someone. But I never did.

I did wonder why what I always called "parting gifts" began being referred to as swag in the 1990s or early 2000s. I just thought it was some word from the urban dictionary I wasn't cool enough to know.

I can even remember an editor bringing me some mail meant for me, as fashion writer, that he called swag. He was less cool than I was, but even he used the word. I think that's why the moment stuck with me.

So there I was, reading my Bostonia and two of my fellow alums is being heralded for establishing a "swanky swag" business, swag.com. Pictured are the water bottles, t-shirts and notebooks that often bear the logo of a company to get attention.

And there it was, swag is an acronym for "stuff we all get."

I feel stupid but now wildly informed, just three decades later.

I also thought back to my fashion editor days reading about the death, yesterday, of fashion editor Andre Leon Talley. He was a nice man, unlike many national fashion editors. He would smile at others and his booming laugh could fill a room. I ran into him years after he left Vogue and he was still charming and accessible. May he rest in peace.

Check out this story of what may be the first ever oyster vodka. It will post online at providencejournal.com tomorrow and be in print on Sunday. It is delicious. If you like a dirty martini, you will enjoy sipping this new vodka from The Industrious Spirits Company in Providence.

That's it for now dear readers.

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Why do restaurants close?