George Greer and his wife, Becky Harris Greer, will never forget their pre-New Year’s visit to Rhode Island.
For Greer, Rhode Island has always been home. He grew up in Westerly, the small suburban South County town steeped in sports history and well known for its Italian-American residents and restaurants.
So, whenever Greer comes home, he makes sure to enjoy an Italian dinner – or two – in his native Westerly and on Providence’s Federal Hill.
“I absolutely love the Hill,” said Greer, who now makes his home in Winston-Salem, N.C. “Although they try, restaurant chefs [in North Carolina] can’t even come close to creating the gravy or the quality you get in good old Little Rhody.”
But the “fantastic dinner” the Greers enjoyed last Tuesday evening at Pane e Vino Ristorante and Enoteca at 365 Atwells Ave. in Providence – as well as the unique meeting they had with noted restaurateur Joseph DeQuattro – was what Greer called a “true Rhode Island happening.”
“This proves it’s true what they say about ‘only in Rhode Island,’” Greer mused. “I told Becky I better play the lottery. I couldn’t have made a better pick for dinner tonight.”
Greer – an All-State baseball player under Ray Wright at Westerly High School, a college baseball All-American at the University of Connecticut under the legendary Larry Panciera, and the head coach at Wake Forest University prior to his current 10-year stint in Major League Baseball – has only been home a few times in recent years.
His last visit to Federal Hill, in fact, was two years ago with Wally Backman when the pair coached the New York Mets Triple-A team, which played against the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium.
Back then, Greer and Backman visited Euro Bistro and Siena.
So, what made Greer and his wife try Pane e Vino last week?
“I heard about the restaurant through some long-time friends who live in Warwick,” Greer said. “They said try it, the food’s excellent, and Pane e Vino is owned by a man from Johnston.”
When Greer heard the word “Johnston,” he had an instant flashback – to 1964 – when he first met former Johnston High School baseball standout Alex Giarusso. The two played on the Rhode Island People-to-People Ambassador Sports Group’s star-studded baseball team, which spent 3-1/2 weeks playing n Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
“I wonder if he’s the [restaurant] owner?” Greer thought to himself. “If not, maybe the guy knows Alex.”
Although Giarusso doesn’t own Pane e Vino, he has a link with DeQuattro, as the two were among the first-ever inductees into the Johnston High School Athletic Hall of Fame back in 2011. Giarusso was a member of the 1963 state champion Panthers, and DeQuattro wrestled his way to All-State honors in 1978.
Thus, upon his arrival at Pane e Vino, Greer asked if he could speak to the owner. He met DeQuattro, and the two exchanged stories about yesteryear and the Westerly native’s new job as the minor league offensive strategist for the St. Louis baseball Cardinals.
In his new capacity, Greer told DeQuattro, his primary responsibility for the hitters will be from the High A Palm Beach Cardinals down through teams in Peoria, Ill., State College, Pa., Johnson City, Tenn., the Gulf Coast League and the Cardinals’ Dominican Republic Academy. He’ll also be directly linked to Cards hitting coordinator Derrick May.
“What a great assignment,” DeQuattro replied while rolling out the red carpet and the Greers. “I certainly wish you and your wife well. It sounds like she’s got some exciting things happening, as well. And thank you for choosing Pane e Vino for dinner.”
DeQuattro later learned that Becky Harris Greer is the current superintendent of schools in Radford, Va., and that she’ll soon purchase the Blue Peacock Manor at River Oak Farm in Farmer, N.C., which is near famed Asheboro and some eight miles from the North Carolina Zoo and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“Maybe you could open Pane e Vino down there,” Greer mused. “I’d be your best customer, that’s for sure.”
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