Twin Oaks Speakeasy
Twin Oaks original restaurant
Twin Oaks with additions, early 1980s

When William DeAngelus Sr. first opened Twin Oaks in 1933, Cranston was a growing city full of hardworking families, and he knew the community needed a place where people could gather, eat well, and feel at home. What many didn’t know was that just a few years earlier, William and his partner, George Gracy, operated a hidden speakeasy in the basement of William’s home — quietly distilling whiskey and brewing beer during the final years of Prohibition.

 

When the speakeasy was eventually discovered and shut down in 1933, William didn’t see an end… he saw an opportunity. He poured his savings, his skill, and his heart into creating a small restaurant with two intimate private dining rooms that held just sixteen people total, along with a main dining room that seated up to forty — an establishment that would soon become a Rhode Island institution.

 

From the start, William and his wife, Eva, built Twin Oaks on the values of generosity, consistency, and genuine hospitality. Eva prepared the sauces, meatballs, stuffed peppers, and roasted turkeys from scratch, while William cooked for the growing number of guests who filled every table. As demand grew, so did the restaurant — expanding room by room, adding private dining spaces, and eventually opening a gift shop. During these years, William and Eva were joined by their son, William DeAngelus Jr., who entered the restaurant at a young age and became an essential part of its growth and expansion. After William Sr.’s passing in 1979, William Jr. took over full ownership and management of Twin Oaks, carrying forward the traditions his parents built and leading the restaurant into its next era.

William & Eva DeAngelus

In 1980, a fire ripped through the restaurant, burning it to the ground and wiping out decades of history in a single night. But William DeAngelus Jr. refused to let the Twin Oaks legacy fade. He kept the spirit of the restaurant alive by temporarily relocating operations to Gregory’s Restaurant on Oaklawn Avenue, ensuring loyal guests could still enjoy their favorite dishes while the original building was being rebuilt.

 

By 1981, Twin Oaks reopened — reborn, renewed, and stronger than ever.

 

In a world where restaurants come and go (and where even five years is considered a triumph) Twin Oaks has stood firm for nearly a century. From the final years of Prohibition to a fire that leveled the building, Twin Oaks has endured it all — and today remains one of the nation’s largest independent restaurants, still guided by the values William and Eva set in 1933.

 

Step inside today and you’ll still find the dark wood, the old-fashioned booths, the familiar faces, and the warmth that has made Twin Oaks a beloved Rhode Island tradition for generations.

 

Today, Twin Oaks continues under the leadership of the next generation, with Susan DeAngelus Valles and William DeAngelus III carrying on the family tradition and guiding the restaurant into its future. Inside its walls, members of the fourth generation now work alongside them — and even the fifth generation can often be found toddling through the dining rooms their great-great-grandparents built.

After nearly one hundred years, Twin Oaks remains exactly what William envisioned so long ago: A place where good food, family, and community come together — and where the story continues to be passed from one generation to the next.