Order up: Richmond restaurant recap for 2022

Nikhil Passi at the Robin Inn where he has worked since 1976. (Jack Jacobs photo)

(Scroll to the bottom for the full list of restaurants moving in 2022)

Goodbye, goodbye

In 2022, Richmond said goodbye to several long-running restaurants, including The Robin Inn, which closed over the summer after nearly 60 years at Fan. Others to shutter included Buffalo Wild Wings in Shockoe Bottom in 19 years and Saison and Saison Market in Jackson Ward in 10 years.

Popular Italian restaurant Mamma Zu has been closed since the pandemic hit in 2020, and it was unclear if it would reopen. Its permanent closure became official when the restaurant’s Oregon Hill home was sold to a mysterious buyer in June.

Buz and Ned’s Real Barbecue will close its Arthur Ashe Boulevard location in early 2022, wrapping up nearly 30 years of operations in its first permanent location. Buz and Ned’s continues to operate Henrico’s West Broad Street restaurant.

New concepts from familiar faces

Drew Schlegel and Randy O’Dell have opened Get Tight Lounge in Fan’s former Roxy Cafe space. (Photo by Mike Platania)

At The Fan, at least five local operators have unveiled new concepts this year.

En Su Boca’s Randy O’Dell and former Fuzzy Cactus co-owner Drew Schlegel have opened Get Tight Lounge in the space of the former Roxy Cafe, serving Baltimore-style barbecue, draft Negroni and more.

Mario Alvanes opened The Nest, a traditional American brunch spot just one block from El Pope in El Pope. Gersi’s owner swooped in to take over the Secco Wine Bar space. rRecently opened another Italian restaurant, Uliveto. Her Sarabeth Hagen, SB’s Lakeside Love Shack’s SB, has taken over the old Starlight and Branch Her spaces along Main Street for her Fan version of her B-52-inspired restaurant. I was.

The New York Deli crew also kept busy. His two employees at the restaurant have taken over the old space of Lady Now Lynn’s on Main Street, while deli owners Demetrios Tsipsis, Rodion Tsipsis and David Zemran work at Bird’s Park café. increase.

Across town, Adrienne and Carlos Londoño, the couple behind La Bodega, Casa Fiesta and more, opened Miami-inspired Papi’s in Shockoe Slip and Besos Mexican Kitchen & Cantina in Rocketts Landing.

food hall is coming

The Hutch Local Food Hall will be announced in Fall 2020 and is the first concept to open in Richmond.

After some tweaking and launching, the food hall trend officially took off in the spring when Hatch Local opened in Manchester with a line-up of vendors from local restaurateurs including The Lindsay Food Group and Allewife’s Lee Gregory. settled in Richmond. Gregory’s Hood His Hall concept, Odyssey His Fish, also gets its own space in the West End.

The Food Hall is also one of The Park at RVA’s many services. The Park at RVA is a self-proclaimed “indoor wonderland” that recently opened near The Diamond.

More food halls are planned as the team behind the Regency Square redevelopment work to modernize the old mall’s food court into a food hall with an outdoor plaza and new tenants. At Scott’s Addition, EAT Restaurant Partners, one of his largest restaurant groups in the area, spent his $3 million on a warehouse being converted into a 17,000-square-foot food hall.

chain

Shake Shack is known for its burgers, chicken sandwiches, fries, and shakes. (Provided by Shake Shack)

The biggest news from the chain restaurant world for 2022 was that Shake Shack is coming to Richmond Market, located on West Broad Street near Libby Avenue. Burger He says construction on the chain’s new building will begin in the spring, and Shake Shack says he’s aiming to open in 2023.

Austin, Texas-based Torchy’s Tacos also expressed interest in the Richmond suburb as it leased the Short Pump and Chesterfield locations after signing a deal in Carytown last year.

Fried chicken slingers Popeyes, Raising Cane’s and Chick-fil-A have all signed on to new locations in the area.

The city’s decades-old Hardy’s served the last biscuits, but a relatively small chain of Cabo Fish Tacos has opened at The Summit along Broad Street.

Indian restaurant chain Eggmania will enter the local market for the first time when it opens in January 2022 at 2610 Tuckernak Drive, Henrico County. Another of his newcomers to the area, Teriyaki Madness opened in December at 14273 Winterview Parkway in Chesterfield County.

Maple Street Biscuit Co. will also debut locally in 2022, opening stores in Midlothian and Short Pump.

Maple Street Biscuit Co. is a breakfast chain expanding to Virginia this year with two locations in the Richmond area. (Provided by Maple Street Biscuit Co.)

with something new

This is a list of who is hopping where.