RICHMOND, Va. — The North Carolina art and music scene brought them together, but it’s in Richmond’s kitchens and bars where Herbie Abernethy and Josh Novicki truly found their groove. The two first crossed paths at East Carolina University in the late 1990s, drawn together by a thriving North Carolina music scene that produced bands like Future Islands and the Avett Brothers.
Abernethy fronted a band called Lo-Fi Conspiracy, which later became Valient Thor, while Novicki was DJing at local clubs.
Years later, a chance encounter at a canceled Warped Tour stop in Wilmington, North Carolina changed everything. Novicki, who had already owned and sold several restaurants in Wilmington, was heading to Richmond to open something new. He ran into Abernethy and popped the question: “Do you want to open a bar restaurant?”…