Updated: Portsmouth Welcomed 37 New Businesses in 2011

The following is from a press release issued by the Secretary of State's Office. The post was updated on Tuesday at 11:39 a.m. 

At least 37 new businesses from Portsmouth started up in 2011, based on new data from the Secretary of State’s office, which tracks yearly corporate filings.

"The economy has had a traumatic few years, so let’s be careful about reading too much into this data. The pain isn’t over, but there are signs that things may be turning around,” said Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis. 

Statewide, it appears that Rhode Island's entrepreneurs may be getting more optimistic about the economy’s recovery. For the first time since 2007, the number of new business starts actually increased year-over-year.

But, overall, the growth was modest. Last year, 6,846 new businesses filed with the Secretary of State’s office compared to 6,778 in 2010. As a basis for comparison, there were 7,837 in 2007.

“Based on our work with start-ups all year long, we were pretty sure 2011 would be more hopeful. But we were surprised to see such an improvement,” said Mollis.

And for the first time since 2007, there have been three straight years of growth in any business classification. The number of newly formed limited liability companies (LLCs) rose to 4,202, up 4.8 percent compared to 2010 and 5.5 percent since the streak began in 2009.

LLCs are a type of business entity that has the liability-shield advantages of a corporation and the flexibility and tax pass-through advantages of a partnership. For the past several years, they have been growing in popularity compared to the for-profit corporate structure.

There are signs that the economic shake-out is not over, though.

In 2011, 6,627 corporate entities disappeared, about 7 percent more than 2010 when 6,183 shut their doors. Still, Rhode Island did better than in 2008, when a record 7,071 companies went out of existence. 

“The state’s economic troubles have taken a terrible toll on Rhode Islanders. We can only hope the worst is behind us,” said Mollis.

[Updated Tuesday at 11:39 a.m.]

The following is a list of new businesses, which opened in Portsmouth in 2011. 

New River Publishing LLC

210 Hargraves Drive 

JFBF REALTY PARTNERS, LLC

1550  West Main Road 

Ohana Realty LLC

4 Carol Terrace 

R.E.P., LLC

400 Glen Road 

2968 East Main Road, LLC

51 Bayview Ave.

51 Bayview Avenue, LLC

51 Bayview Ave. 

Fortsana Group LLC

49 Sherwood Drive 

Marine Safety, LLC

62 Benjamin Drive 

BELUGA FROYO, LLC

34 Julia Court 

BD LAX, LLC

52 General Sullivan Circle 

Hunt 44 Tooling, L.L.C.

1909 Alden Landing 

1348 East Main Road, LLC

1348 East Main Road 

H D SERVICES  LLC

40 Eric Court 

RSH GENERAL CONTRACTING, LLC

447 Bristol Ferry Road 

NGS CONSULTING, LLC

19 Quail Road 

HARKINS STAFFORD POND, LLC

1907 East Main Road 

Sea Pro Lawn Care, LLC

61 Morgan St. 

REV LLC

101 Canonchet Drive 

Cory Farms Past & Presents, LLC

289 Lawrence Drive 

Aquidneck Media LLC

11 Butts St. 

A & B Properties LLC

1698 East Main Road

Peter Letendre & Associates LLC

3047 East Main Road 

Molly Malone's, LLC

397 Wapping Road 

Heritage Financial & Credit Consultants LLC

119 Heritage Drive 

JRM Properties, LLC

577 Sandy Point Ave.  

Montessori School of Portsmouth, LLC

1185 East Main Road 

Advanced Construction Company, LLC

1 Grain Terrace 

Eleanor T. Howard, LLC

243 Wapping Road 

Gilded Age Properties, LLC

44 Bayberry Road 

JSIDNI PROPERTIES, LLC

55 Sigourney Road 

CarryMe USA, LLC

300 Highpoint Ave. 

Harkins-Whitefield LLC

1907 East Main Road 

Sonya's Cleaning Service LLC

62 Perrault St. 

Whitehall Sales llc

224 Heritage Drive 

Skiffington LLC

554 Sandy Point Ave. 

North Main Builders LLC

60 Prospect Lane 

Ocularstorm Productions LLC

45 Stewart Drive 

Newport Electric Construction Corp.

151 Chase Road