Saturday Afternoon Visit

Each time I go to my field site I get more comfortable.  Today Venda had free sample tastings of apple crisp.  They were promoting an apple peeler and a friendly gentlemen was passing out samples to everyone that seemed curious about the tray of apple crisp.  A decent amount of people were there, but most visitors and customers were there to do their food shopping or enjoy Venda's food.  I was able to stroll around the room multiple times to really get a sense of the space.  Each time I circled around the room I would notice something that I had never seen before.  It was exciting to explore the room and see all the options to pick from.  I spent my time taking visual snapshots of the room to be able to map out my field site for later use.  I over heard a lot of different conversations.  One family was getting food for the week and they were just as overwhelmed with the space as I usually am.  They all seemed to love being there even the two young children, who excitedly would show their parents the foods they found and wanted to buy.  Towards the end of my time there I picked up a white package of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies to share with my roommates when I got back to RIC.  I noticed that they were not Venda Ravioli brand, but Cookie Place.  After doing some research online I discovered they are sold by Eastside Marketplace and RIC bookstore and cafeteria.  This is interesting because Eastside Marketplace is one of the main distributors to Venda as I later unveiled in other visits to Venda.  It was also a fun fact that the same cookies are sold at RIC.  These cookies are made from a non-profit organization to give job training and job opportunities to people with disabilities.  Here is a link to their website to learn more.  I know there will be more to find out with more visits and asking more questions about how Venda always has a full stock of a variety of products.

Front Outside Windows of Venda

Search for Venda Online

If you thought the first link that appears when you search Venda Ravioli is the actual website for the market, than you were right! After clicking on the link, it lead me to the homepage of Venda Ravioli where viewers can order almost all of the products offered in-store or learn more about the store itself. Different tabs are listed across the top and the right side of the main page, which can bring the viewer to a variety of categories. There are not a lot of distractions on the website and colors of green and orange are recurring. Pictures of food and other products are bright against the white background to make them pop. In my opinion, the visuals are to give the viewer a little taste of what they can actually get by going to Venda. Through their website, Venda engages the viewer to explore the website and makes it convenient for the viewer to order online, if the customer can not actually go to Venda in person. I think it is a welcoming and warm website for anyone to understand. Any sort of information about Venda Ravioli is posted somewhere on the website, it is just up to the viewer to navigate their way through the easy set up. Generally this website focuses on viewers buying items, but there are links on the website to discover the history, open hours, and recipes available. But this website is not the only one that can reveal more information about Venda Ravioli.

Restaurant review websites are the most common links that appear on online search engines. Yelp, Urbanspoon, Tripadvisor, Foursquare and others all have their own ratings for Venda Ravioli. Each one gives a brief description of Venda and give it two dollars signs for the price range. Star ratings are at either four or five stars. Customer reviews are listed with their honest opinions, criticizing service, food, and apparence. These websites for intended for viewers that are curious or interested in an Italian restaurant or market. The websites are very useful and give an overall sense of the space, but not in too much detail. Not many pictures are posted, but still give the intrigued viewer an idea of Venda. The review websites are helpful and accurate in giving information about Venda.

As a broader search, I looked up Federal Hill on the search engines. I found their website and discovered more about the history of the area and the other Italian business other than Venda. I learned a lot about how Federal Hill originated from the Federalists in the 1700s, but really gained an Italian culture when all the immigrants arrived to America in the 19th century. I enjoyed getting more of a background about the community surrounding Venda. It struck me that these digital field sites had so much information about Venda considering it is only one business and not a huge corporation. Venda Ravioli has a lot to offer and these digital field sites guided me through many components of their restaurant and market.

Pictures of Food Inside

Windowed Refrigerator for the Meats Section

Windowed Refrigerator for their Home-made Pastas

Home-made Stuffed Ravioli's 

Prosciutto Stuffed Peppers 

(handmade stuffed cherry pepper with a chunk of provolone wrapped in a slice of prosciutto)

First Experience as a Researcher

Before walking into Venda Ravioli for the first time as a researcher, I had to go through a maze of  Italian dressed people.  I picked a good day to do my research because there was a parade on Atwells Avenue where Venda is located.  All along the street there was restaurants, stores, and businesses set up at booths along almost the entire strip of Federal Hill.  It made me excited to know that there was going to be a lot of action inside Venda.  I had never been to Venda when they had this parade, so I was curious about what I was about to observe.  As I settled into a seat near the door, I was prepared for the typical Italian guidos and guidettes to fill up the room.  I also expected it to be loud and smell like I had entered an Italian grocery in Italy.  I was ready for my first observation as a researcher at Venda Ravioli and could not wait to start writing.

What surprised me? I saw a large amount of people that were just standing around and not really doing anything.  There was less customers than I expected that were actually buying something from the grocery.  I found that most people were just waiting and talking with their group before the parade started.  Also, the workers were standing around because they looked like they were full staff for no reason, considering the lack of customers buying their food.  Out of these employees I encountered the six younger ladies at the register who seemed to be completely miserable.  I was surprised because they were not busy, all the customers appeared happy, and they were getting paid to stand around.  I was shocked at how the people were not doing too many interesting actions.
What intrigued me? As I looked around the room, I realized I had not seen a quarter of the amount of decoration in the room as I usually did.  I was curious if the design of the market kept building over the years or if they always had so much stuff everywhere.  It was interesting to find “hidden” decorations that a regular customer would not see, but as an observing research I noticed immediately.  I was intrigued at how many times I went to Venda and it was only this past Sunday that I acknowledged how many trinkets and art was displayed to give a real Italian feel.
What disturbed me? One of the workers standing directly in front of me in the inside of the huge connected rectangular windowed fridge in the center of Venda, that showcases fresh foods, was texting.  He was working near the deli meats section and had gloves on.  I thought it was wrong that he was not only texting while getting paid, but the fact that he had the same latex gloves on that he used to cut meat and give it to customers.  It must have not been a big deal to anyone else because no one said anything to him, and I wondered if this happens a lot.  Another observation that disturbed me was how there was only one person I saw with a gold chain around their neck.  He was a middle-aged man and had a white muscle shirt on and walked with a lot of confidence, but it was disappointing to only see him wearing the typical Italian gold chain.  Although small disturbances, those are the two that stuck out to me.

Positioning Myself

The things I will notice in my fieldsite will be different from everyone else in the world, but that is what will make my research interesting. Although I only have a small history with Venda, I know it will impact my findings. The somewhat outsider position I have with Venda made me curious about it enough to choose to study it as my fieldsite. Rhode Island Italians is what really drew me in. At Venda I always felt that there was an invisible line between the people who belong there and the people who are outsiders. This line separates the Rhode Island Italians and basically everyone else. I am part of the everyone else because I live in Massachusetts and I am 100% Portuguese. In some ways people from Rhode Island and Massachusetts are similar, but in other ways they are completely different. Accents, manors, and driving records are some things to compare and contrast. Italian and Portuguese people are also sometimes considered alike. My nationality and the state I am from will definitely effect my research considering the sub-culture I am studying. Another position that will effect my research is how I am an eighteen year old girl. Most of the people that go to Venda, either for the market and/or restaurant, are middle aged and elderly. I do not have a lot that I can relate with them other than comparing them to older people that I know. When I go to Venda and see elderly people I tend to think of what my grandparents look like when they go to their favorite Portuguese market. Going to Venda I will have this perspective and it will in turn result in certain things that I will pick up on in my observations. I will most likely record customer conversations, but they will not be the same types of conversations my friends and I will have. This is what I am expecting, but there is no guarantees about what will happen as my research continues. The typical stereotypes of the Rhode Island Italian may be changed or proven further, but either way I hope to “blow it up.” Positioning myself with Venda is complex and I know it will bring intriguing data to my research.

CIAO

My name is Marissa and this blog is for my fieldstudy about Costantino's Venda Ravioli. This restaurant and market is located in "Little Italy" of Providence, RI. I have been there multiple times with my mother and we usually buy the delicious fresh food there. Some things I am hoping to figure out more about the sub-culture within this business. Who knows what I am really going to find out, but either way it will be an adventure. I am extremely excited and curious about the information I will discover with my research.