The Daily restaurant in Carytown will close early next month to make way for a new, TBD concept.
Why it matters: The restaurant was a big deal when it openedin 2013 with its sleek design, organic-focused menu and plethora of vegan, veggie and gluten-free options.
Driving the news: The Daily’s Carytown location will close at the end of service on Sunday, Sept. 6, per a Wednesday social post from the Richmond Restaurant Group-owned restaurant.
- The space will be reimagined and “an entirely new dining experience for Carytown” will rise in its place, the group wrote.
- The Short Pump location will remain open.
What they’re saying: It was time to update the space with a full renovation, and it just made sense to rethink the concept along with it, co-owner Michelle Williams tells Axios.
- She declined to share details about the new concept — for now.
Context: RRG — which was founded in 1995 and also owns The Hill Cafe, both locations of The Hard Shell, West Coast Provisions and East Coast Provisions — regularly refreshes its spaces and concepts.
- East Coast Provisions, for example, was RRG’s circa 2016 rebrand and interior refresh of their Water Coastal Kitchen restaurant.
- Before selling Barrio Taqueria (now Memi’s) in 2023, RRG had an oyster bar (Pearl Raw Bar) and new American restaurant (DeLux) in the space.
Flashback: But when it opened in 2013, The Daily was the group’s most exciting and high-profile concepts to date, per what I wrote then for the Times-Dispatch.
- RRG spent two-years transforming a then, long-closed skateboard shop to create its warm and earthy, organic-focused eatery.
- The restaurant was so visually stunning that folks regularly stopped on the sidewalk to marvel at the award-winning design.
Fun fact: Less than a month after opening, a minivan rammed through the front of the restaurant, shuttering it for about a day and inspiring The Daily Kitchen & Bar to (jokingly and very briefly) rebrand as “The Daily Kitchen & Car.”…