The Conte family welcomes you to Plum Pt Bistro !
Long time restaurateurs of Rhode Island, Ralph and Elisa Conte are popularly known as the owners of Raphael's Bar Risto. The couple opened Plum Pt Bistro with their daughter, Zoe, and son, Raphael in 2012. Residents of Jamestown, the
bistro has become more like a second home for the Conte family, a place of gathering not only for their family, but for their friends, neighbors and community. On behalf of the Conte family we look forward to sharing a bit of ourselves with you in every bite. Buon Appetito!
Ralph & Elisa's Story
"Raphaels Fine Italian with a gentle touch." (providence journal)
The following year they relocated the business to the Waite Thresher Building on Pine Street, Providence.
Once a dingy basement boiler room, Ralph and Elisa
transformed their business into a fine dining experience, simultaneously opening Raffi's Pizza out of the same building soon after.
"Owners Ralph and Elisa Conte Have created in Raphael Bar Risto a hip, chic restaurant that is a hit for the see-and-be-seen crowd." (providence journal)
After much success they sold their Pine Street location to Johnson and Wales University in 1991. Located on South Water Street, on the East Side of Providence, Raphael Bar Bistro was born. Once again, Ralph and
Elisa turned an unsuspecting location, an independent film retail store, into an electric bistro scene.
"Only a visionary could have foreseen the potential through all the rubble... walk into this restaurant and you'll want to stay, isn't that the purpose?...dine here and you'll feed all your senses..."(Rhode Island Monthly Design Award)
"In an old Providence train station, restaurant family puts on show." (The Boston Globe)
"Train stations of the past enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a great spot to meet and dine. Ralph and Elisa Conte revived that tradition when they morphed the abandoned and decrepit Providence Train Station into a sleek and hip restaurant. There's a lot of progressive Italian Food in Providence, but this acclaimed dining room raises the bar." (New England Travel & Life)
Veterans of the restaurant business in Rhode Island for nearly 40 years, Ralph and Elisa's journey originated simply, in North Kingstown. On Post Road their first venture began at a roadside motel, in 1983. The Monte Vista Motel. Initially opened as a breakfast/lunch establishment, it quickly developed a large following for dinner under the name, Raphael's.
Following their success, a second location was raised in the Benny's Market Plaza of East Greenwich, in 1995, and in 1997, the South Water St. location was sold in favor of something grander. At the height of the "Providence Renaissance," the Union Station location came to fruition in, well...an abandoned train station. In the underbelly of the city, their progressively Italian cuisine converged with he slick tunnel bar of nightlife.
In 2008 Ralph and Elisa sold Raphael Bar Risto to focus on quality of life and family.