People love to put their name on great things.”

Adam Ramos

George Bailey thought he had failed his family, his friends, and the entire town of Bedford Falls in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” What he didn’t know, as he ran by Mr. Potter’s office back to his home, was that everyone in town had filled his house with the same effort and spirit he had gifted them in his desire to see his community thrive. Mr. Potter underestimated the power of the people in the community. 

Warren, Rhode Island, has a population of approximately 11,125 residents; when you add in neighboring East Bay towns, that number grows. The possibility of losing a community building perfect for the arts is a daunting reality for Dena Davis, artistic director of Arts Alive!, who has been a part of the 2nd Story saga since it first sold in 2018. 

A sense of deja vu crept in as a meeting convened in the event room at Cutler Mill on Feb. 11, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the future of the building — again. A similar meeting was held here in 2023 for nearly the same reason. 

The purpose of the meeting, Davis shared, “This meeting is to discuss what it will take to eventually reopen the space as a ‘jewel’ of the East Bay and its only historic performing arts center.” She emphasized, “It’s going to take time.” 

According to Davis, the building became vacant in 2018 and reopened briefly last year before the leaseholders were evicted. She said, “The going price for the building was $1.7 million several years ago, but now it has nearly doubled to $3 million.” The current owner, Brian Thibeault of New Hampshire, has listed the property on LoopNet for sale or lease without a price attached.

According to Davis, who has connected with interested parties, Thibeault is trying to sell the property for $3 million. Davis remarked, “He does not care about it as a community space.” She continued, “The East Bay community deserves its own cultural arts center. We are committed to making this happen, if not at 28 Market Street, then elsewhere.”

 The meeting kicks off 
The meeting was lively, with a group of people invested in the arts and residents from Warren and neighboring towns like Bristol and Barrington in attendance. It began with a PowerPoint slide reading “2nd Story: A New Beginning.” The people in the room leaned in to hear the new plan. 

Davis enthusiastically kicked off the meeting, presenting her hopes and dreams for the building with each slide. Questions poured in from the audience, asking how many people could be seated in the theater, if the lighting needs renovating, whether the kitchen was usable, and, most pressing, “How will we do this?”

In response to this broad question, Davis handed the conversation over to Adam Ramos, a Bristol resident. She said, “I am the vision; he is the reality.” 

Ramos began by echoing the concerns of the audience, asking a rhetorical question: “How could we ever come up with $3 million to buy the building?” He went on to say the main issue is that it needs to be broken down into steps, ultimately leading to a business pitch to get stakeholders from the community to invest.

There are two options for the building: It might be sold, leaving the potential to rent the space, or the community can pull together to create an entirely new entity and acquire the building through these efforts. Ramos reiterated Davis’s sentiment on how much time this might take, saying, “This meeting is the kickoff to that process, which is a lengthy one.” 

Davis’s vision for the building has evolved. While she still sees it as a community arts hub for the East Bay, this time, she wants it to be more thought out and managed by the community, possibly as a nonprofit organization. The facility has the potential to include theater performances, music, an art gallery, and space for culinary events. The community has options.

Many of Davis’s slides were blank because the third chapter of 2nd Story is wide open to the community. These are just the beginning stages of planning, and Ramos noted, “Our next step is to have our actual vision clearly defined in a presentable form.” He went on to explain why, saying, “People love to put their name on great things.” 

“My hope is that there will be enough people willing to put their ‘boots on’ and get to work,” emphasized Davis. There is a specific need for there to be a drive among the people in the community to give 2nd Story its third chapter, perhaps even a new name.