To Be of Use ...
In the years between 2010 and 2023, business partners Chad Hoffer and Anna and Tyler Burnley have established two of Aquidneck Island’s restaurant winners: TSK (Thames Street Kitchen) and Mission (in Middletown) and now, their newest venture: Utility. In considering the vacant space next to Mission, they decided to “dabble in retail,” in Anna’s words.
“Nothing on Aquidneck focused on chef supplies, home cook or host items,” she continues. “We wanted to merge the aesthetic with the functional.” To that end, she hunted for independent, family-run brands, several of them local: Yagi Noodles Chili Crisp, Moromi Soy Sauce, Nest Homeware, Providence-based Kutty Knives, an East Bay–based potter. Plus Brooklyn “cottage companies” and even a couple from France and Italy.
Since opening last June, Utility has had a good run, especially for the holidays. Customers come in to find something different than a bottle of wine to bring to a dinner; chefs reach for tried-and-true items. Current favorites are wire mesh bowls from MoMA, in several colors; the cookbook 50 Pies, 50 States; and festively painted wooden block pepper grinders by Dusen. This carefully curated, “anti-Amazon filtered” (in Anna’s words) collection combines art, fun and, oh, yes, utility!
58 Aquidneck Ave., Unit A, Middletown. 401.324.5403; Shop-Utility.com
