Ed 163: Brunch Burgers, Selfie Lounge, Dog Bar
Hey, y’all! 👋
Thanks to everyone who sent over positive feedback about our new layout for The Weekly Insider — we’re so glad you like it!
If you have any other suggestions or insights for us, we’d love to hear ‘em. For now, here’s what’s going on this week:
WEATHER
Wednesday: Mostly sunny; high of 97°, low of 75°
Thursday: Thunderstorms; high of 82°, low of 71°
Friday: Partly cloudy; high of 90°, low of 68°
HAPPENINGS
Wednesday, 6:30 pm: Sunset Float & Stretch on the James River
Thursday, 4 - 6 pm: Happy Hour at Quirk Gallery
Friday, 5 - 8 pm: Safe Space Market July Cookout
CITY GUIDES
1. The Trendspotter: July 2021
2. 9 Frozen Desserts to Cool Down With This Summer, Pt. 2: Boozy Edition
3. Best Spots to Sing Karaoke in Richmond
RICHMONDER TO KNOW
Rabia Kamara: Pastry Chef and owner at Ruby Scoops Ice Cream & Sweets, Richmond's first Black-, woman-, and queer-owned handcrafted ice cream shop. And man, talk about qualifications — Rabia got her Bachelor's in Marketing from VCU, graduated with distinction from L'Academie de Cuisine in Maryland, and completed a course specifically about ice cream at Penn State before opening her own shop here in RVA’s Northside neighborhood. If you haven’t been yet, go. For real.
Fun fact: Rabia starred as a "Chef-testant" on the Food Network show "Guy's Grocery Games" and on the show "Bake It Like Buddy” on the Discovery Channel!
Keep scrolling for RVA’s latest social news, including the expected opening date of Richmond’s first dog bar and park, a new selfie-based experience booking now in the West End, three majorly awesome events happening this Saturday (honestly, not sure how we’re going to choose), and more.
THE LATEST:
THIS WEEK
But first, let me take a selfie. Here’s a sentence we never thought we’d type: Richmond has officially welcomed its first “selfie museum,” a new spot called f.stop selfie lounge described as "a self-guided selfie exhibition for patrons to experience different well-curated spaces and rooms that provoke creativity, imagination, and dreams."
For $20, visitors can spend 45 minutes snapping pics in front of the various displays including a wall of cash with a golden cart, a bright pink and sprinkle-covered room full of donuts, a faux locker room, an all-yellow hair salon set-up, graffiti art, a sky-blue room with floating clouds, and more. Time to practice your perfect pose — details here.
Started from the burger hole, now we’re here. Church Hill’s insanely popular Cobra Burger opened for takeout only from a window they called the “Burger Hole” back in February. Now, they’ve moved the party inside — they officially opened their new dining room this past Friday, July 2!
Cobra Burger is now serving dinner on-site from 5 - 10 pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday — as well as brunch (or as they call it, BRONCHFEST) on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am - 3 pm. We highly recommend their Big Blooberry Brekkie Baby, aka housemade blueberry pancake sausage, Sylvanaqua Farms egg, cheese, and VA maple syrup on a Fat Rabbit Cakes blueberry English muffin. We’re not drooling, you’re drooling.
See ya Saturday. We are SO excited about the return of the Richmond Night Market this Saturday, July 10 from 5 - 9 pm at the 17th Street Market with 20+ vendors at the Artisan Village, a live DJ on the main stage all night, a live painter in the Makers Space all night, and more!
Did someone say “dream home”? Richmond Homearama kicks off its annual showcase in new home design trends this Saturday, July 10 and will run through July 25 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). Visitors will have the chance to walk through eight stunning custom homes in one gorgeous location, each crafted by home builders across the Richmond area. Think of it like real-life HGTV, minus the commercials. Get your tickets here.
Calling all beer-drinking runners — and non-runners who could be convinced to run if there’s a beer at the finish line. Starr Hill Richmond Beer Hall & Rooftop just announced the launch of their new weekly fitness event, Track Starrs Run Club. Starting this week, runners (and aspiring runners!) can meet at Starr Hill on Tuesdays at 6 pm for this free community run, following either a 5K or 10K route through Scott’s Addition before meeting back at the taproom for $1 off pints at happy hour, which runs from 7 - 9 pm. It’s all about balance, right?
Canal cruises are BACK, baby! Venture Richmond just announced the the return of River Front Canal Cruises hourly historic tours, which are officially re-open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12 - 7 pm. These 40-minute, historically-narated boat tours of the James River and Kanawha Canal are an absolute blast. We just went on one ourselves last week and had so much fun — keep an eye on our TikTok and Instagram Reels for a recap soon!
Don’t forget, it’s Shakespeare season. The Richmond Shakespeare Festival's 2021 season begins this Thursday, July 8 at Agecroft Hall & Gardens. Learn more and get your tickets here!
COMING SOON
Four words: Dog. Bar. And. Park. We are SO excited to share that an RVAx member named Natalie Moore will be opening a new dog bar and park called Ruff Canine Club this fall in Scott’s Addition at 1900 Ellen Rd! Natalie sent us the whole scoop about this rad new business, and we cannot wait for it to open.
Ruff Canine Club will be a private membership dog park and social club dedicated to building community, promoting positive canine ownership, and providing members with fun and awesome activities. At Ruff, dogs will be able to play off leash while their owners enjoy food, beverages, and other cool events.
There are multiple membership levels — but note that if you join before they open, you can get a lifetime discount on annual memberships! Learn more and sign up here.
“The dive bar of your dreams” …from a source you might not expect. First, let’s rewind a bit. Back in May, the owners at Brenner Pass introduced Black Lodge, an all-day cafe in Scott's Addition offering delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. We knew that the Black Lodge concept was going to be delicious from the get-go, because that’s the Brenner Pass way. We did not realize, however, that Black Lodge’s final form would take the shape of a dive bar — and yet, that’s where it’s headed!
Black Lodge announced that they're turning their space into "the dive bar of your dreams," transforming their side and back rooms into a full bar and lounge with beers, snacks, draft cocktails, natural wines, and more. The new concept is expected to open in late summer; we’ll keep you posted!
Weekly Giveaway
Handley Watches
In case you’re not familiar with this Richmond brand, Handley Watches offers versatile, stylish, sophisticated watches made to move with you wherever you go. Founded by a husband and wife duo, these watches combine safe, flexible, waterproof bands with sophisticated, modern dials that can be worn anywhere, from the office to the gym and beyond.
While Handley Watches is perhaps best known for their wide selection of mens watches, they recently introduced The Libbie, a 34 mm womens watch featuring a pearl river gray band, a minimalist white face, and gold accents, valued at $199.
And guess what? We’re giving one away to a lucky RVAx member!
To enter to win: Tell us something you’re “counting down the minutes” until this summer. A beach trip? A family reunion? A concert? We want to know!
Last week: Congratulations to Joanna H. for winning our Courthouse Creek Cider giveaway!
Member Perks
BLOSSOM
Founded in November 2019, BLOSSOM is a locally owned and operated plant-based health and wellness store located in The Fan. They provide a curated collection of high quality, sustainable, and ethically sourced products like adaptogens, hemp CBD, plant and fungi-based supplements in the form of tinctures, creams, powders, edibles, and more.
BLOSSOM aims not only to provide a safe place to purchase and use natural wellness supplements and products, but to serve as a trustworthy resource of information surrounding the topics of health and wellness overall.
RVAx members get a 10% discount on purchases made in-store at BLOSSOM — just mention The Richmond Experience at checkout to redeem! Learn more here.
new + trending from RVAx
SAVE THE DATE
👋
Hey, new members!
We'd like to welcome 30 new members this week: Jan P., Kyra S., Nan C., Barb J. Jenn G., Trevor M., Madeline B., Cody A., John S., Emily D., Trisha K., Kaitlyn R., Vanessa S., Emily M., Jenna W., Erin D., Erin S., Patricia M., Erin T., Jon P., Shane J., Lacy W., Zachary K., Mary Beth K., Samantha M., Dawn B., Carly E., Kevin R., and Leigh H., 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 163 of The Weekly Insider.
Have an awesome week & weekend!
- The Richmond Experience
OUR LOCAL PARTNERS
