Touisset Country Club a Swansea landmark for over 60 years
The early days of Touisset Country Club. The golf course at 221 Pearse Road, which opened in 1961, was built by Ray Brigham. Its current on-site restaurant, Vilma’s at Touisset Country Club, pays tribute to Ray’s wife Vilma, the original chef and co-owner at TCC.
Diana Nolan
SWANSEA — In the small Touisset neighborhood near the border of Warren, Rhode Island, there’s a restaurant with a long legacy of delicious eats that’s hidden in plain sight.
For over 60 years, golfers have been pairing a day at the course with a multi-course meal at Touisset Country Club.
But what many may not realize is that you don’t have to be a club member or player at the nine-hole public course at 221 Pearse Road to enjoy their tasty, locally inspired cuisine “in a setting like no other.”
With a relaunch of a newly reinvigorated and rebranded restaurant space — Vilma’s at Touisset Country Club, which opened April 15 — Diana Nolan, third-generation owner and operator of TCC, aims to ditch the presumption of exclusivity that can come with the term country club.
Her mission is to promote Vilma’s as a SouthCoast dining destination that serves the community as a whole, serving up a fresh culinary vision that still honors its roots.
This new chapter for TCC’s restaurant includes a new look, new head chef, elevated menu, and live music, with an eye on an extended season.
“I would love for it to be a place where people can pop in for a drink, have great conversation with the staff, get to know the good folks that are playing golf there and just think of it as a welcoming environment where you feel like you already know everyone,” said Nolan, 44, of Barrington, R.I. “Somewhere you know you are going to get good food and service… something that you can depend on.”
History of Touisset CC and its restaurant
Vilma’s at Touisset Country Club pays tribute to restaurant matriarch Vilma Brigham, Nolan’s grandmother who was the original co-owner and chef of the Swansea landmark.
Previously referred to as the TCC Clubhouse, Nolan said she decided to give the restaurant its own name to distinguish it from the golf course, both of which were built from the grounds up (literally) by her grandparents.
Nolan’s grandfather Ray Brigham spent two years designing and building the golf course by hand before Touisett debuted in 1961. And her grandmother was “flipping burgers when he was out working on the green,” Nolan said.
While there has always been a restaurant on site, it has not been run by the club for the past 30 years.
When Nolan’s grandmother Vilma left the kitchen, the club started bringing in restaurateurs to lease the space, until last year when Nolan — who has been at TCC since 2012 — took the reins of the restaurant and brought it back under the family umbrella.
This, Nolan points out, gives her the ability to do more for the customer and work with them better to provide a more comprehensive experience.
It also ensures her grandparents’ legacy of great food and family tradition lives on.
“Thinking about my grandparents and what they wanted this to be really gives me that passion to make it everything that it can be within my control,” she said. “I feel like this is what I was meant to do.”
Meet the chef at Vilma’s
With new chef Nicholas Carreiro at the helm, Nolan said she has a lot of high hopes for the future of Vilma’s.
After spending this past winter refining his craft working alongside top culinary talent in Aspen, Colorado, Carreiro, a Swansea native, has returned to his hometown to head up the kitchen at Vilma’s.
“With a fresh perspective and a dedication to elevated flavors, Chef Nicholas is excited to bring his skills to Touisset Country Club, crafting unforgettable dining experiences for our members and guests. Get ready to enjoy a menu inspired by his journey, blending refined techniques with locally inspired flavors,” reads an announcement on TCC’s website.
Pre-COVID, the TCC restaurant would have been slammed on a Friday night, Nolan noted. Diners started to pick up again last year, and Nolan is hoping the relaunch and shift in hours will enable TCC to be more consistent with getting the public in the door.
“We are looking forward to making the restaurant a place where Swansea can come and have really good food at reasonable prices with a casual atmosphere,” Nolan said.
Revamped restaurant space and menu
According to Nolan, the revamped menu at Vilma’s expands upon Tousiett’s list of long-time favorites, with a Portuguese flair to some of the dishes.
Highlights include the Fall River steak sandwich, which is Carreiro’s take on the classic Portuguese steak, dry batter fish and chips, brown butter lobster rolls, the sweet and savory bacon onion jam burger, as well as apps like onion rings and his “perfected” chicken wings available with an array of scratch-made sauces.
Chicken parm and chicken piccata are also popular, as well as soups from scratch every week, including New England clam chowder and kale soup.
There are also vegan and gluten-free options on the menu.
“He’s taking ingredients and the time and the care and the skill to put flavors into the food and elevate the food for the customer,” Nolan said of head chef Carreiro.
“Everything he makes is from scratch, tastes great, and he takes pride in what he does,” she added.
The ultimate goal is to provide a menu that is delicious and affordable both for guests and golfers who frequent TCC daily.
Items on the menu vary in price specifically so that people can come on a regular basis “and not go broke getting a sandwich,” Nolan said, or trying one of their elevated entrees.
With its new name and menu also comes “a new look and feel” to the restaurant space, which recently underwent some interior renovations.
There are nine tables outside, as well as five bar seats and about a dozen tables inside. Vilma’s can accommodate about 40-50 people at one time with the current layout, but Nolan noted that they’ve handled parties larger.
Vilma’s also offers catering, hosts parties and events on site, and makes custom cakes for special occasions.
New this year: live music
Another welcome addition to the restaurant’s offerings this year will be live music, which marks a first for the club. Kicking things off for the 2025 season will be Unscrewed Acoustic, set to perform May 9.
Nolan anticipates entertainment will be set up outside as the weather allows.
From seasonal to year-round operation
While the golf course is open year-round — with locals having been drawn to Touisset greens even in the snow — the club building and restaurant has always been seasonal, open from roughly April through October.
With a renewed focus on the restaurant, Nolan’s goal is for Vilma’s to keep its doors open year-round for public dining going forward.
Nolan said she and Carreiro share a passion for making Vilma’s the best that it can be and “something the community can support without going broke.” And so far, the response of local patrons has been great.
“It’s been steady… with the golf season just ramping up, we’re still trying to get our sea legs a little bit, but we’re really excited for what is to come,” Nolan said.
When can I visit?
Vilma’s at Touisset Country Club is open to the public Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (lunch only.) On Monday, the restaurant is open for golfers only, no public dining.
According to Nolan, reservations are strongly encouraged but not required. To make a reservation or more information, call 508-679-9577 or visit https://www.touissetcc.com/clubhouse.
Since Touisset serves two separate customer bases, Nolan noted that just because the parking lot looks full doesn’t necessarily mean the restaurant is busy. “Those could all be golfers, so it’s always worth popping in to see or call ahead,” she said.
To get a peek at their menu or place an online order for pickup, go to https://www.clover.com/online-ordering/touisset-country-club.
For the latest updates on Touisset Country Club and Vilma’s, check out their Facebook page.