A Temple of Female Badassery

It seems apropos that the 1966 Czech surrealist comedy art film Daisies plays in regular rotation on the one blank wall at Amaryllis on Providence’s endearing Westminster Street. The plot centers around two women, close confidants who unapologetically rebel against a materialistic society, lavishing in their gluttony while leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Admittedly, restaurateurs Tracy DeFusco and Deanna Marandola seemed to have plucked only the good parts of the two characters in the farcical film, considered a feminist milestone. They are part of a cadre of trailblazing women carving a path for themselves in the undeniably male-dominated restaurant industry.

“It’s happening more in New York, L.A. and Chicago, but it’s happening here,” DeFusco, 51, says about the rise in women helming local restaurants.

“There’s definitely room for more,” adds Marandola, 39. “I feel like we’re more collaborative by nature.”

The two business partners met in 2015 and instantly developed an intrinsic synchronicity behind the compact bars at Kleos (now closed) and Rosalina, Downcity sister restaurants owned by Lauren Lynch and husband Tom Bovis. They discovered a shared passion for creative international cuisine and an industry that kept them on the cutting edge of it all. When ready to spread her own wings, DeFusco caught Marandola’s ear.

“I was, like, ‘I want to open my own place. You should run the bar; you’re amazing,’ and she was, like, ‘We’ll just open it together,’” says DeFusco, a golden Van Halen necklace dangling around her neck. And that was that. “Amaryllis” became Instagram official in August 2018.

On a research pilgrimage to Los Angeles, where DeFusco had lived for seven years, they found inspiration for their menu—the Middle Eastern spices from Bavel, scratch-made Italian rustic dishes from Bestia, “farmers market cuisine” from Botanica, and “locally sourced, produce-forward” California cuisine with a Mediterranean influence from Gjelina.

“We asked, ‘Why isn’t anything like this here?’ The kind of food that is so fresh and vibrant, it’s so seasonal,” says DeFusco. They left the City of Angels with a fire in their belly, and a business plan. “And we had a pop-up a month later at The Eddy. It was, ‘I guess we exist now. We should probably get an EIN number,’” says Marandola.

A series of pop-ups let the women get their feet wet, finding their footing and back-of-house rhythm until Karen Beebe, owner of fashion boutique Queen of Hearts and gift store Modern Love, both on Westminster Street, told DeFusco and Marandola about an empty space that had opened across the street. Other well-loved restaurants left their footprint there in the pre-pandemic era: Farmstead Lunch, Flan y Ajo, and Sushi Yama. And in another life, the space was part of legendary concert venue, Lupo’s, so for two women with a penchant for good food and rock ’n’ roll, it was a good omen.

So, they set off to create that vibe, officially opening Amaryllis in the early summer of 2021. The 20-seat shoebox-sized eatery, with additional tables on the front patio in the warmer months, had advantages from the jump—an open kitchen surrounded by bar-top seating creates a natural energy in the space that intrinsically sparks interaction but also offers a welcoming space for solo diners. Opposite, a long street-facing table invites diners to put down their mobile devices and take in city life under a glowing canopy of string lights. A framed poster of Debbie Harry holds court over the space, a reminder of the female badassery that founded the joint, and a whimsical collection of live plants and colorful dishes handpicked to ceremoniously present the food they carry adds layers of texture throughout. In a word, Amaryllis looks cool.

Their menu, though thoughtfully created, prioritized quality over quantity, thus leaving some diners with questions. “A lot of people were confused when we first opened,” DeFusco concedes. “We had a lot of people that led with, ‘Well, what is this?’”

“We had a hard time explaining ourselves for a while,” adds Marandola. “People were, like, ‘You’re great at Mediterranean but you’re also very Middle Eastern,’ and yeah, because we love doing both of those things. We’re not Latin only, we’re not Middle Eastern only … and that’s when we came up with ‘globally influenced farm to table,’” says Marandola.

The women have forged strong relationships with area farms, working directly with growers and crafting menus around specific seasonal crops. This time of year, they lean heavily on fungi from family-owned and -operated Oak Owl Mushroom Farm in Seekonk, and source dark leafy greens including spinach and kale from Moonrose Farm, a women-run farm in Rehoboth. Lamb is sourced from Hopkins Southdowns Farm in North Scituate; The Farm, LLC, a certified organic vegetable farm in Chepachet, yields everything from butternut squash and eggplant to pea tendrils, radishes and kohlrabi, also called a German turnip or turnip cabbage.

“We use it sliced thinly under our ceviche; it gives this crisp, radishy flavor,” says DeFusco. The Farm’s Bel Fiore radicchio makes winter dishes shine. “It’s so delicate and beautiful—it looks like a giant flower. We love the bitterness in a salad paired with olives, anchovies and citrus fruits; using honey in the vinaigrette mellows the bitterness.”

The CSA at Big Train Farm in North Scituate carries so much weight, the women will plan dishes around what’s just been picked, like turnip for soups. “Literally every Monday, when you get the email of what they have, it’s ‘Well then, that’s what’s on the menu,’” DeFusco adds.

And sometimes, she rolls up her own sleeves, farming from her own small plot in a South Providence community garden.

As a BYOB boîte (there’s a $5 corking fee), having Eno Fine Wine and Spirits next door is convenient for diners, and “part of the experience,” but DeFusco admits it’s extremely difficult to make a profit without a liquor license. “In all honesty, you have to really hustle to make ends meet. Because we are so small, we have next to zero food waste. We get creative when produce doesn’t move; it gets fermented or put into soups,” she adds. “We both agree that our next location would include a class C license while still keeping it intimate.”

As the temperatures dip, DeFusco and Marandola warm heart, soul and belly with heartier, stick-to-your-ribs fare. Think soup, stews, shawarma and dishes like mushroom Bourguignon over creamy polenta. And it becomes obvious when you consider the meaning of the amaryllis flower, which is said to symbolize pride, strength, beauty and determination as it stands tall above all other winter blooms.

Andrea E. McHugh is a freelance writer who has written for the Hartford Courant, Baltimore Magazine, Daily Candy, Design Sponge, Providence Monthly and more. She resides in Newport.

Amaryllis
225a Westminster St., Providence
@amaryllisri on Instagram