Wednesday, May 22, at Noon—RUTLAND—The 12th monument on the Rutland Sculpture Trail will be unveiled and dedicated on Wednesday, May 22 honoring late Rutland restaurateur Ernie Royal and his wife Willa. The event will begin at noon at 89 Merchants Row. Royal, a national leader in the food service industry and the first Black restaurant owner in Vermont, and Willa, who was his partner and greeted every guest, have been brought to life in stone by designer Amanda Sisk and sculptor Don Ramey.
Royal started working in a kitchen in Boston at 13, and in 1955 started a small restaurant in Dorchester, Massachusetts. When he tried to buy the building, he faced racism as Boston bankers refused to give him a loan, so he moved to Vermont and started over. He opened Royal’s Hearthside in 1963 and operated it until 1994, other than one year when he retired and unretired.
For more information, visit: rutlandsculpturetrail.com.
