Developer Mark Bogosian Buys Newport Creamery Chain

Newport Creamery, a Rhode Island institution, has been sold to Cape Cod developer Mark Bogosian.

NBC 10 NEWS WJAR reported that Bogosian plans to update and potentially expand the company. The Newport Creamery restaurant at Garden City Center in Cranston shuttered its doors at the end of last year. The Barrington location closed in January.

Newport Creamery traces its roots to 1928. Its flagship "Milk Bar" location opened on West Main Road in Middletown in 1940. Renowned for its Awful Awful milkshake, introduced in 1948, the chain expanded throughout New England before filing for bankruptcy in 2001.

In the late 1990s, the Rector family sold the chain to Florida businessman Robert Swain for $7.6 million. According to a Go Local Prov report, Swain later stole the company's funds. He and his wife took hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company to support their other business interests and lifestyle.

The Jan Companies purchased Newport Creamery in December 2001. The restaurant chain, which once had 33 locations, currently has eight around Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts.

It was not immediately clear when Bogosian, the president of Longfellow Design Build, would take control of the business.

"I am thrilled for the opportunity. My team and I are looking forward to expanding Newport Creamery. We are excited to be a part of such an iconic brand," Bogosian told GoLocal Prov.

The deal was scheduled to close on Monday, March 30.