01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, June 16, 2005

BY ANDREA L. STAPE
Journal Staff Writer

NARRAGANSETT -- Nicholas Janikies first started hinting about the changes to the Rhode Island icon in 2002.

The restaurant magnate had just scooped Newport Creamery out of U.S. Bankruptcy Court for $1.55 million and was talking about his plans for the troubled chain.

Janikies envisioned a new name for the Ocean State ice cream shops and a future that distanced Newport Creamery from its reputation as a place to get basic "dairy bar" food -- such as grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs and burgers.

It took three years, but Janikies' vision for Newport Creamery has become a reality.

Cafe Newport, which Janikies terms "the evolution of Newport Creamery," opened yesterday on Point Judith Road in Narragansett. It's drastically different from the traditional Newport Creamery.

The newly constructed 4,800-square-foot, $1.5-million restaurant features colorful murals, an expanded menu and freshly baked pastries. Missing are the traditional Newport Creamery stools and the counter service. In their place are marble countertops, ceramic tile and hardwood floors.

Above the pastry counter and coffee bar a slogan in bright red cursive letters proclaims the restaurant's motto -- "fruit, flour, butter, love."

"We hope to create an atmosphere that makes people say, 'we have to go here,' " Janikies said during a tour of the new restaurant last week. "I don't think you've seen a restaurant like this."

Janikies has said for years, since buying Newport Creamery, that the restaurant chain's concept was outdated, which made it tough to attact new customers and expand sales.

At the same time, the company's ice cream has remained popular. In order to keep the restaurant somewhat familiar and connected to its loyal Rhode Island customer base, the Cafe Newport slogan boasts that it's "The Original Creamery," and Newport Creamery's traditional ice cream will be served -- including the company's signature Awful Awful milkshakes. A walk-up window outside was also installed for takeout ice cream orders.

But Janikies, founder of the Cranston-based restaurant operator Jan Companies, is attempting to create a different dining experience with Cafe Newport, he said.

"It's combined as an ice cream parlor with a high-tech restaurant," said Janikies.

The restaurant will have a quick-service component in the morning with a walk-up pastry counter and coffee bar, plus a seating area for people just ducking in to grab a bite. At the same time, prepared breakfasts will be served to seated customers on the other side of the restaurant. In the afternoons and evenings, the new menu includes Gorgonzola penne pasta, shrimp scampi, baby back ribs, sweet Cajun salmon and a variety of sandwiches and burgers. Prices range from $6 to $13 an entrée.

Mark Vierbickas, Cafe Newport's head chef -- who designed the menu -- said the company is aware that it will be competing with the myriad of causal restaurant chains blanketing the region.

But he, like Janikies, is convinced Cafe Newport can stand out.

"I think what sets this apart from Chili's and Applebee's is the food quality here is much higher," said Vierbickas.

Despite the high number of casual restaurants in the United States, their sales continue to grow, according to Technomic, a food-service consulting and market-research firm in Chicago. Applebee's, the nation's largest casual restaurant chain, saw sales increase 10.5 percent last year.

In Rhode Island, restaurants are predicted to continue to be a major economic engine, according to the National Restaurant Association. Between 2005 and 2015, restaurant job growth in Rhode Island is expected to be 11.8 percent. This year alone, the state's restaurant sales are expected to be $1.8 billion, according to the national trade association.

If the first Cafe Newport location does well -- Janikies says he expects it to be profitable within 90 days of opening -- the company will overhaul two existing Newport Creamery locations in Cranston and Middletown to pull them in line with the Cafe Newport model next year.

"We're here to attempt to prove something," said Janikies.