Plate and Goblet: Acacia coming to Libbie Mill

Probably the biggest news on the Henrico restaurant scene is the much-anticipated opening of Acacia Midtown in Libbie Mill.

Acacia owners Dale and Aline Reitzer – founders of Richmond Restaurant Week and generally regarded as local restaurant royalty – closed their last location early in 2020 as the pandemic barreled in. Dale has been named one of America's best chefs, and their award-winning restaurants have been credited with single-handedly putting Richmond on the fine dining map more than two decades ago.

Their new site at 2365 Roux Street in Libbie Mill is now open, after having hosted several occasional pre-opening pop-ups.

Revel soon to open in Lakeside

Another long-time Richmond restaurant owner is setting up shop in Lakeside, and expects to open Revel Market and Bar within the month. Julep’s New Southern Cuisine owner Amy Cabaniss took over the building at 6223 Lakeside Avenue in 2021, and told BizSense she hopes to make Revel an affordable, neighborhood spot, with daily happy hours and specials on food and drink. The market section will include fresh-baked bread, charcuterie and cheeses.

Julep’s New Southern Cuisine will continue to operate downtown on East Grace Street, and will celebrate 20 years in business this year.

Just down Lakeside Avenue from Revel, new owners recently took over Bryan Park Bar & Grill and reopened in January after minor renovations (which included the addition of several large TV screens).

As with Revel, the owners of Bryan Park Bar & Grill (lifelong Lakeside resident Chris Mawyers and his wife, Amy, also a long-time Lakesider) want the bar to be a neighborhood hang-out, but note that others are finding their way to the Grill as well.

Richmond BizSense reports that Chris Mawyers has always wanted to own a bar, and jumped at the opportunity to take over the Grill. Both husband and wife, however, plan to keep their day jobs.

Sweets with silly names
Diablo Doughnuts, the local offshoot of a Baltimore shop, opened recently at 1090 Virginia Center Parkway in Glen Allen, near Virginia Center Commons. The shop specializes in creative pastries with offbeat names, such as Unicorn Farts (a vanilla-glazed doughnut tossed in Fruity Pebbles) and Panty Dropper (glazed in maple syrup and topped with bacon). Diablo also offers savory pastries, such as the balsamic-glazed Caprese, filled with ricotta cheese, tomato, and basil.

A recent poster on RVA Dine & Drink raved about the strawberry-frosted cronut-like pastry, and praised the doggy treat dubbed the Puppy Boughnut. Proceeds from the sale of Puppy Boughnuts go to local animal shelters.

Etcetera
• Lifelong friends Abhi Sheth and Yash Patel opened The Brass Tap Feb. 20 at Libbie Mill (4901 Libbie Mill East Boulevard, Suite 100, to be exact). The location is the craft beer bar chain’s second in Virginia. Sheth is the owner of a Dunkin’ Donuts in Maryland, and Patel’s family has owned hotel and restaurant franchises. Altogether, there are nearly 50 locations in 16 states.

• The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that La Fogata Coffee & Grill is now open at 6006 W. Broad St. (next to Mekong, attached to El Rey Latino Market), and offers tacos and other fare along with a coffee bar.

• Scott's Schwarma, a Scott's Addition fast-casual spot serving Middle Eastern fare, recently expanded to a second location at 5401 Glenside Drive.

• Hot Pot 757 Henrico, now open at 7502 West Broad Street in the Merchants Walk Shopping Center, offers an all-you-can-eat menu blending traditional Chinese hot pot and Korean BBQ flavors.

Immigrant inspiration

I only recently came across a segment by WTVR's Greg McQuade that ran in October, featuring Gee Suleymanian, owner of Greek Taverna.

Originally known as The Crazy Greek, the restaurant on Staples Mill Road at Broad has been around for decades, but opened as Greek Taverna in 2017.

Gagik Suleymanian grew up in Armenia, a small country situated between Europe and Asia, when it was still part of the Soviet Union. He told McQuade that food shortages were common and that other basic necessities were also in short supply. Some weeks, the family only got one hour of electricity to last the week, and they routinely went without heat and hot water.

After Suleymanian's father took a research job at MCV in 1992, his family followed him to Virginia, and Suleymanian started at Thomas Jefferson High School knowing virtually no English.

What stuck in my mind – as we emerge from pandemic shortages that would be mild by childhood-in-communist-Armenia standards – is Suleymanian's resolve to remember his roots, and to celebrate how far he's come.

“Sometimes I joke," he said, "that maybe part of being an American citizen we should send everyone over to a third-world country for a week and bring them back – so they can appreciate how it is over here."