Ed 137: Downtown Openings, Booze News, and A Food Hall Coming Soon
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Image Source: @skphotography4
Hey there! Alicia here 👋
However you chose to ring in the New Year, it’s finally here! We made it to 2021, y’all, and we’re staying hopeful for brighter days ahead.
How many of you made a New Year’s resolution? To be totally honest, this is the first year that I’ve opted out of doing so. Instead, I set an intention for 2021 by choosing a word of the year: CONNECT.
This year, it’s my intention to:
Connect as much as possible with the Richmond community through our membership program, partnership program, website, social media channels, Weekly Insider, and (eventually!) in-person events
Connect Richmonders with local businesses they might not know about otherwise so they can eat, drink, shop, and support local as much as possible
And connect the work we do at The Richmond Experience (and the content we create) back to supporting causes we care about through education, donations, and volunteer work
Whatever your goals may be for the New Year, we’re here to support you as you work to achieve them — whether you made a resolution, set an intention, or you’re just trying to make it through this year one day at a time.
Check out our latest guides for some inspiration as we navigate 2021 together:
20 RICHMOND SPOTS THAT WILL HELP YOU KEEP YOUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS
SHOPPING FOR SELF CARE: UNWIND WITH THESE 5 LOCAL BEAUTY & WELLNESS OPTIONS
Happy New Year, everyone! Now, on to this week’s (and year’s!) social news…
THE LATEST:
Image: @sincero_rva
Image: @lillie.pearl.rva
Image: @homefolk.design
Image: @cheddarjacksonrva
SOCIAL NEWS
Not sure what to do with your leftover Christmas tree? The City of Richmond has you covered. This Saturday, January 9 from 10 am - 2 pm, the Department of Public Works and the Richmond Clean City Commission will be hosting their annual Bring One for the Chipper tree recycling event. Beyond Christmas trees, they’ll also be offering electronics recycling and document shredding, all at 1710 Robin Hood Rd and N Arthur Ashe Blvd, in the field across from the Arthur Ashe Center.
P.S. If the idea of “The Chipper” makes you think of Phoebe Buffay, just know you’re not alone. My brain is basically a dumping ground for old Friends re-runs.
Mark your calendars for #SinceroSaturdays at Hatch Kitchen. Okay, I made up the hashtag, but the new Mexican concept Sincero will be popping up at Hatch Kitchen every Saturday in January from 1 - 5 pm! Sincero will be releasing a new menu each week, but you can find this Saturday’s menu in particular here. The "For Two" option ft. six tamales, rice and beans, and two horchata drinks for $35 sounds a) delicious and b) like a steal. Pre-order online here for pick-up!
Speaking of Hatch Kitchen, have you heard about the new food hall they’re opening in Manchester? It’s going to be called Hatch Local, and RTD’s John Reid Blackwell reported that it’s expected to open this spring at The Current.
(Helpful reminders: The Current is a new mixed-use development ft. apartments, offices, and retail spaces that plans to begin leasing in February. Hatch Kitchen is a food and beverage incubator that opened mid-pandemic to offer shared kitchen space designed to help Richmonders start, build, and/or grow their food or beverage businesses.)
There will be space for seven different vendors to sell out of the food hall at any given time, with vendors rotating on a regular basis. The food hall will also have two bars, one of which will serve as a coffee shop during the day, then as a beer and wine bar after dark. Keep an eye on the project’s progress here.
I spy a three-legged boozery on the horizon. Mike Platania at BizSense reported that Three Leg Run — a brewery, winery, and meadery all in one — is preparing to open at 4418 W Hundred Rd in Chester, hopefully in March or April 2021.
Local married couple Melissa and Steve Clayton are the forces behind this trifecta. Steve is an alum of the University of Richmond beer brewing program, while Melissa graduated from Washington State’s viticulture program and is now attending a winemaking course at Penn State. (I love seeing a fellow Penn Stater doing awesome things. We Are!) The business’s name and logo were inspired by the couple’s late dog, a Jack Russell Terrier named Cletus, who ran on three legs.
Three Leg Run is expected to launch with 10 taps total, seven of which Steve hopes to reserve for craft beer while the other three will be set aside for mead. The Claytons will be purchasing grapes wholesale for wine production in the meantime until they eventually have grown enough grapes on their vineyard in Appomattox to harvest. Who’s thirsty?
And there are plenty more new boozeries and restaurants where that came from! The folks over at Venture Richmond put together an awesome list of 11 new spots in Downtown Richmond to check out in 2021, including new-to-the-scene places like grilled cheese panini shop Cheddar Jackson, Southern-inspired (and fried chicken-focused) restaurant Lillie Pearl, the new social club with its own rooftop bar/wine cellar/cocktail lounge/raw bar/in-house restaurant called Common House, and more. Add them to your RVA bucket list and let us know which ones you love most as you check them off one by one!
Don’t let the cold weather get you down. Virginia Tourism put together a whole guide to Winter In Virginia to help you make the most of the season despite the chilly temperatures, including round-ups of cozy vineyards with heated outdoor seating, 15 of the commonwealth’s best winter hikes, the most Instagram-worthy winter destinations in the area, and many more. Happy exploring!
HAPPENINGS
Consider making 2021 the year you gave your artistic side a chance to express itself with winter classes now open for registration at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, like…
Wheel-Thrown Teapots - Fridays from January 15 - February 19, 10 am - 2:30 pm (On-Site Class)
Glass Fusing & Slumping for the Absolute Beginner - Thursdays from January 14 - March 4, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm (On-Site Class)
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator & InDesign for Beginners - Thursdays from January 7 - February 25, 6 - 9 pm (On-Site Class)
Drawing Fundamentals for the Still Life: Flowers, Furniture & Food - Wednesdays from January 13 - February 17, 10 am - 12 pm (Online Class)
Polymer Clay Jewelry at Home - Saturdays from January 10 - 31, 10 am - 2 pm (Online Class)
…and many more! Find more creativity-based classes to fit your fancy online at visarts.org now.
Weekly Giveaway
Bryant’s Cider
If you’re one of those people who thinks of hard cider as a sweet, sugar-y beverage, Bryant’s Cider is sure to change your mind! Their delightfully dry cider boasts 0 grams of added sugar and just 2.5 carbs, for more reminiscent of a brut champagne than those sticky-sweet ciders you used to throw back in college.
And get this: The apples that Bryant’s uses in their ciders are grown at their family farm in Roseland, Virginia. Talk about drinking local!
Bryant’s Cider Club Memberships are now officially available for purchase for the 2021 season. This $55 quarterly service allows Richmonders to get cider delivered right to their door in a package that includes three mainstay 4-packs, two 500 mL bottles, and one seasonal 4-pack per quarter — a total steal, for everything you see pictured here!
We’re giving one lucky member of The Richmond Experience a quarterly Bryant’s Cider Club Membership to kick the New Year off right.
To enter to win: Tell me one thing you’re looking forward to in 2021! Personally, I’m excited to celebrate our pup Luna’s fifth birthday in July. Time flies!
Last week: Congratulations to Diana T. for winning our Restore Hyper Wellness giveaway!
Member Perks
Grit Coffee
Have you been to Grit Coffee yet? This new coffee shop opened its doors on Libbie Ave in late 2020!
While this shop is Grit’s first Richmond location, they have multiple shops in Charlottesville. As a coffee roaster, Grit seeks to share quality coffee with the community – from the casual drinker to the coffee expert.
Their Libbie Ave location here in Richmond serves coffee, espresso drinks, tea, whole bean coffee, and baked goods from Pearl’s Bake Shoppe and Saltncinnamon daily from 7 am - 3 pm.
Members can use code RVAxJANPERK15 for 15% off at Grit Coffee (including coffee, tea, and espresso drinks, as well as pastries and breakfast sandwiches!). Order now!
new + trending from RVAx
SAVE THE DATE
👋
Hey new members!
We'd like to welcome 47 new members this week: Alex T., Arin L., Elizabeth V., Logan W., Katie M., Mark S., Kate L., Ian M., Michael C., Maureen M., Anne-Stuart T., Holli K., Jayson G., Caroline P., Francis O., Jenn B., Katie R., Justin W., Marie S., Elizabeth O., Stephen G., Beatriz C., Kaitlyn H., HeatherAnn M., Kandice W., Zay D., Ted B., Brittany W., Courtney F., Allyson K., Michelle H., Krista M., Maddie O., Shannon D., Hattie J., Becca R., Sarah K., Danielle W., Madison D., Casey M., Kim T., Allison M., Jacob M., Ida F., Hannah T., Alli T., and Robyn R., we're so glad you're here!
It takes a village, so let us know if you have any questions, thoughts, feedback, tips, or recs! Thanks for reading edition 137 of the Weekly Insider.
Stay well friends,
Alicia @ The Richmond Experience
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