
Sport&Leisure, with two locations in Rhode Island, is flipping the traditional sports bar concept on its head by focusing on crafting a unique and immersive guest experience where people can connect, celebrate, and create memories.
“Sport&Leisure is more than just a bar or restaurant; it’s a lifestyle experience. When I created it, I wanted to craft a space where people could immerse themselves in an environment that feels both nostalgic and forward-thinking,” says Jason Cortellesso, creative partner at Sport & Leisure and president/partner at Notorious Hospitality. “What sets Sport&Leisure apart is how we integrate design, culture, and branding. Everything from the layout of the space to the menu and even the merchandise line is intentional.”
The sports bar concept is part of the Notorious Hospitality group, which includes other concepts across Rhode Island and Boston. About three years ago, the first Sport & Leisure location opened in Providence. It was two years in the making as COVID delayed the original opening plans. After finding success with their Providence location, the new East Greenwich location opened less than a year ago.
“I think the key is that we’ve tapped into something that feels both personal and universal—a space that’s innovative, welcoming, and effortlessly cool,” says Cortellesso. “We’ve been fortunate to resonate with a wide audience, becoming a destination for both locals and visitors, and the buzz has been incredible.”
I visited the bar in December to see what all the “buzz” was about and to learn how they’ve scaled their unique “lifestyle experience.”

A Design Slam Dunk
Sport&Leisure’s immersive experience starts at its entrance, with the small astro turf patio that looks like it was cut from a football field.
The interior is packed with sports memorabilia. With everything from neon liquor brand signs, framed pictures of local sports figures, and Stanley Cup trophies to the Narragansett Beer mural on the back wall and the mounted deer head over the fireplace, it’s hard to know where to look first.
“The design is a fusion of retro materials, futuristic elements, and organic textures, creating an ambiance that’s unlike anything else out there,” explains Cortellesso.
The bar features a black-and-white checkered floor with tufted black leather seating and an impressive floor-to-ceiling back bar. Each shelf and alcove of the back bar features colored uplighting, making it the clear showpiece of the space even amongst all the memorabilia.
A disco ball next to a round chandelier lit with tubular Edison bulbs immediately evokes the high-low tone the bar is trying to strike not only in its aesthetic, but on its menus as well.

A Varsity-Level Food Menu

Sport&Leisure subverts expectations of the food typically served at a sports bar. The usual pizza, chicken fingers, and sandwiches are all on the menu, but Sport&Leisure ensures they are the best versions of these offerings.
To make it happen, they partnered with well-known local chef Antonio Franco to create a food menu that truly wows. Everything is made in-house in their scratch kitchen from the pizza dough to the dipping sauces that come with the chicken tenders.
There are also unexpected items on the menu, like the rigatoni dish featuring a housemade spicy vodka sauce. In a state known for its Italian food, Sport & Leisure wanted to ensure they had a pasta dish that could stand up to the competition, so they tasked Chef Franco with creating one. It’s become one of the bar’s most popular dishes.

Drafting a Number-One Cocktail Menu
Sport&Leisure’s cocktail menu is another effort to toe the line between elevated craft offerings that are also approachable. The cocktails feature craft elements with housemade syrups and infused spirits, but the fun names and recognizable ingredients keep them approachable.
“I try to be as creative as I can,” says Nathan Travis, director of Beverage & partner at Sport&Leisure. “We infuse a lot of things in-house.”
The traditional gin martini gets a hibiscus twist through the addition of Travis’ hibiscus-infused gin mixed with, lime, strawberry, and elderflower (Hibiscus Gin Martini).

To elevate the typical espresso martini, Travis added a housemade gingerbread syrup for the holidays, but they kept things fun and on theme with the drink’s “Grahm-Slam Espresso” name.
All of the cocktails have names related to sports and sport figures to keep with the venue’s theme. The beer and RTD list is called “Teddy Brewschi’s” after the famous NFL linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who played for the New England Patriots, the bar’s hometown team. Another former Patriots player, Julian Edelman, gets a nod in the bar’s Julian Edelflower cocktail featuring gin, lemon, lime, mint, elderflower, and soda.
Tequila Ocho Cinco, an ode to wide receiver Chad Johnson on the Bengals, was one of Sport&Leisure’s most popular cocktails, featuring Tequila Ocho and housemade habanero and strawberry syrups. Even though the cocktail was on the bar’s last menu—Sport&Leisure changes out its cocktail menu every few months to keep things fresh—people still come in and ask for it. “Tequila’s always hot. Spicy margaritas took off,” says Travis when asked about cocktail trends.
One of the mainstays on Sport & Leisure’s cocktail menu and a true crowd-pleaser are the large-format Gatorade cocktails, which were first created at the bar’s Providence location. Serving 3-6 people, the cocktail features Glacier Freeze Gatorade, Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka, lemon, Malibu rum, STOLI Citrus vodka, and orange liqueur, and it comes to the table in a Gatorade cooler.
Sport&Leisure also uses the Gatorade coolers in other ways—like as the ice bucket for bottles of champagne. The practice goes back to their effort to balance an elevated experience with fun. “If somebody buys a bottle of Ace of Spades,” says Jason, “we just fill up the Gatorade cooler with ice and stick it in. Just so it never gets too serious.”
“It goes with the theme,” says Cortellesso. “Aesthetically, it looks cool, and everyone wants to take a picture with it.”
Merchandising & Branding for the Team
It's that customer engagement that Sport&Leisure is especially invested in, and it often extends beyond the doors of the bar.
The concept engages with the local community through special touches like their “Dogs of Main Street” cork board featuring the neighborhood dogs that walk by the bar almost daily. They also participate in local charities through work with organizations like Plates with Purpose, a nonprofit fighting food insecurity in Rhode Island.
The bar’s merchandise line has also taken off in a big way—lending Sport&Leisure an army of brand ambassadors repping the bar through T-shirts, hats, hoodies, and other merch. The plan was always to offer T-shirts, but as customer demand grew, the concept ended up rolling out an entire line of merch.

“The merchandise is more than just an extension of the brand—it’s a way for our guests to take a piece of that experience home with them,” says Cortellesso. “Our community has embraced it, and the brand has grown rapidly as a result. Our merch has been a huge thing.”

Champion-Level Events
Events have also allowed the bar to connect with its guests through immersive experiences centered around sporting events like the Masters, the Kentucky Derby, and more. But Sport&Leisure doesn’t just put the sporting event on the TVs and offer a few drink specials—they aim to make their guests feel like they’re actually there.
“We try and curate accurate events,” says Cortellesso.
For the Masters event, they recreated the lanyards everyone wears at the event and used them as passes for the party. They served food and drink the Masters is known for, like pimento cheese sandwiches and Arnold Palmer cocktails. They also invited people to come dressed up as caddies.
For the Kentucky Derby party, the event’s signature drink, mint juleps, were plentiful. Guests were invited to dress up, and they came to the event wearing suits, dresses, and big hats. Sport&Leisure created special passes on lanyards to serve as entrance tickets for this event as well.
For both events, the bar also tapped into its popular merch line and sold special T-shirts commemorating the event.
While Sport&Leisure didn’t charge for entry into the parties, the custom passes for both events succeeded in creating “FOMO” in those who didn’t have them, and many guests would show up to the bar looking for one.
The Marketing Play
Cortellesso says a big part of Sport&Leisure’s marketing strategy is to stay on top of currents, like the Masters or the Kentucky Derby, as well as memes and trending topics. “It's a matter of being aware of trends and capitalizing on what's happening today,” he says.
He used the example of the imagery surrounding Rihanna’s concert at the 2023 Super Bowl. One promo shot—her hand holding a football—was a standout image. So Sport&Leisure’s Providence location immediately capitalized on that with a food branding shot that mimicked the iconic photo.

More recently, the East Greenwich location capitalized on a meme that’s developed from a line in a Kendrick Lamar song about, of all things, mustard, to promote its housemade sauces.
Cortellesso also focuses on making Sport&Leisure a destination with Instagram-worthy décor, holiday tie-ins like the East Greenwich location’s over-the-top holiday decorations, and its can’t-miss special events.
While Cortellesso thrives on creating marketing promos and plans, he recommends that owners who don’t have the time or interest outsource the job. He even works with social media influencers at times. “Pay somebody if it's not your thing,” he says. “You can't do it all.”
What’s Next on the Schedule
The team behind Sport&Leisure plans to continue riding their wave of success by adding new concepts and locations to their hospitality group. In fact, they’re planning on opening a new concept in Warwick, Rhode Island in early spring.
“I’m really excited about the future,” says Cortellesso, “as we continue to expand and bring Sport&Leisure to new locations and markets.”
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