Hundreds of items auctioned off at former restaurant

The soft sounds from a Steinway Grand Piano floated through the jam-packed main dining room inside The Little Inn last Friday morning.

Suddenly, Nanci Thompson – who was wearing a mobile headset and holding many rolled up papers in her hand – announced: “OK, folks, we’re going to begin the bidding for that beautiful piano, and the Russo family has asked that we begin at $8,000.”

The sound of chatter suddenly subsided, as Thompson waited for someone to open the bidding for the priceless heirloom that entertained delighted diners inside the once-famed Johnson eatery for more than 40 years.

Unfortunately for the Russo family, which owned and operated The Little Inn for upwards of four decades, there were no takers for that Steinway Grand Piano. However, for the next three hours, Thompson – who owns and operates Briarbrook Estates & Auctions Inc. of East Greenwich – received a myriad of bids on approximately 245 antiques that once served as decorations and were also trademarks of the former well-known restaurant.

A standing-room-only crowd – estimated at somewhere around 100 people – jammed every available space inside The Little Inn’s main dining room, and included some serious and high-powered antique dealers who bid on and bought items that ranged from kitchen accessories and stained glass wooden doors to butter churns, hand-painted items by artist Jean Dewey and even slag lamps.

There were so many items that they were on display in the former restaurant’s four other dining areas, including the once highly requested fireplace room.

“It was a bittersweet day for Cheryl Russo and her brother Harold,” said Anthony Ursillo, a native Johnstonian who purchased a huge wall-hanging oval mirror during the auction. “This was their parent’s legacy. You could almost smell the delicious food that countless people, including myself, enjoyed here through the years.

“This was a Johnston and Rhode Island institution with great memories for everyone who patronized The Little Inn,” Ursillo continued. “It was convenient for lots and lots of folks. I told Cheryl and Harold they should be proud of the many years that their family served the town of Johnston and its residents. Now, the place is dark, silent and somewhat empty, as we wait for the next chapter – if there is one – to unfold.”

There were rumors last Friday that the building has, in fact, been sold, but no one seemed to know who has purchased the facility, which is located at 3 Putnam Pike (Route 44) in Johnston.