The history of Newport Creamery

The history of Newport Creamery: What began as a humble dairy operation in Newport nearly a century ago has grown into one of Rhode Island’s most iconic restaurant chains. Newport Creamery, known best for its nostalgic comfort food and signature Awful Awful milkshakes, has served generations of families across New England.

The history of Newport Creamery traces its roots back to 1928, when Samuel Rector who was already in the milk business purchased a dairy on Van Zandt Avenue in Newport. After becoming a wholesaler the company then entered the retail business in 1932 when it began to deliver milk house-to-house on Acquidneck Island.

In 1940, Rector and his son opened the first Newport Creamery restaurant in nearby Middletown, where the company remains headquartered to this day. The restaurant originally served only ice cream, and it wasn’t until 1953 that food was added to the menu, helping transform the creamery into a full-service diner-style restaurant.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, Newport Creamery expanded rapidly, eventually operating 33 restaurants across Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Despite decades of success, the chain encountered serious financial difficulties in the late 1990s leading to the closure of many locations.

In 1999, the Rector family sold Newport Creamery to Florida businessman Robert Swain for $7.6 million. Swain attempted to revitalize the brand by expanding further into Massachusetts and Connecticut, but the effort failed. In 2000, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a year later, local Burger King franchisee Jan Companies purchased Newport Creamery out of bankruptcy for just $1.55 million.

No discussion of Newport Creamery is complete without mention of its signature drink: the Awful Awful, a creamy blend of proprietary ice milk and flavored syrups.

The beverage originated at Bond’s, a New Jersey-based chain, in the 1940s. A customer coined the phrase “awful big and awful good,” giving the drink its now-famous name. In 1948, Bond’s licensed the drink to Newport Creamery and Friendly’s, under the condition that neither New England company would sell it in New Jersey. As Friendly’s grew nationally, it rebranded the drink as the Fribble, eventually changing the formula to use ice cream rather than ice milk.

When Bond’s shut down in the 1970s, Newport Creamery purchased the trademark, securing exclusive rights to the name and original recipe, which it continues to serve today.

The Awful Awful even made national headlines in 2019 when the chain was featured on the Cooking Channel’s Man v. Food. In the episode, host Casey Webb successfully drank three 24-ounce Awful Awfuls in under 8 minutes.

As of 2025, Newport Creamery operates 10 locations across Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Despite downsizing, the brand remains deeply ingrained in the region’s culinary identity.

As Newport Creamery faces the announced closure of its Garden City Center location in Cranston, its fans remain fiercely loyal. From after-school meetups to weekend breakfasts and multi-generational milkshake traditions, the chain’s history is inseparable from Rhode Island’s own.

Whether for nostalgia or for a towering glass of Awful Awful, Newport Creamery continues to serve as a local treasure, and a reminder of simpler, sweeter times. We look forward to a continued history of Newport Creamery.

Massachusetts:

• Fall River – 1670 President Ave
• Seekonk – 701 Fall River Ave

Rhode Island:

• Barrington – 296 County Road
• Coventry – 781 Tiogue Avenue
• Cranston – 100 Hillside Rd (set to close at the end of 2026)
• Greenville – 568 Putnam Pike
• Middletown – 208 West Main Road
• North Kingstown – 7679 Post Road
• Providence – 673 Smith Street
• Warwick – 1256 Warwick Avenue