Révéler may be the coolest bar in Carytown, and it's definitely the weirdest
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Révéler is open nightly at 3108 W. Cary St. Photo: Karri Peifer/Axios
In the middle of Carytown, just a few doors down from Can Can and across the street from The Jasper, is Révéler.
- Its windows advertise an art, food and drink, and live music something that seems to dare passersby to enter.
Why it matters: We dared. We entered.
The big picture: Révéler is everything the words on the windows promise and so much more.
- The venue is open nightly for a rotating calendar of live entertainment, immersive experiences and cocktails and snacks.
Flashback: Co-owners Josh Czarda and Christina Pearlman — the duo behind local escape rooms Escape Room RVA and Gnome & Raven — opened Révéler in 2022 with the goal of reimagining date night, event director Sarah-Pete Petersen tells Axios.
- It was supposed to introduce Richmonders to experiences they'd never had before with hands-on, immersive activities (like painting and tattooing a dummy) set up in different themed rooms throughout the space, but the concept never really took off.
So last year Révéler partnered with Orbital Music Park to bring in live shows — but kept the themed rooms and escape room vibe from its origin.
- "That's when the magic started to happen," Petersen says.
Zoom in: Now, Révéler offers something different every night, the kind of events you can't find anywhere else.
- Live shows include blues, jazz, reggae, comedy, funk, soul, pop and more. The calendar changes weekly, but tickets are generally $10-$15.
- The luxury couches and velvet club chairs from the spot's first iteration are now the show seating.
- High Tea and Treachery — a 90-minute "escape-style" puzzle experience with tea and snacks — happens every Sunday at 3:30pm for $39 per person.
- Other events include karaoke, writing and drawing workshops, burlesque, cabaret, late-night "witching hour" story telling, and dance parties.
Yes, but: Révéler's biggest secret is its simplest. A weekday happy hour when the doors are always open, house wine and beer, and a few specialty cocktails are just $5 from 5-7pm.
- It's also when Révéler celebrates "creative hours," and guests can roam the space and try out the hands-on activities, like light art workshops, adding to the wishing tree and even jamming out on a piano.
The space, Petersen says, is whatever visitors need it to be, as long as they are mindful of Révéler's motto: "Be cool, listen and be brave."
- So what do you say, Richmond? Are you ready to be brave?