Joe's Inn is getting its official restaurant "icon" status

• Plus, the Fan District spot best known for its massive plates of pasta still keeps things fresh (see also its recently-viral Roséderade cocktail).

The big picture: Gov. Youngkin and the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association — the state restaurant and hotel trade association — will present six honorees with a VRLTA lifetime legacy membership on Thursday.

• The reception is the kickoff to the group's legacy membership program in celebration of VRLTA's 75th anniversary.
• The program extends free membership to every restaurant in the state in operation 50 or more years in recognition of the restaurants' "influence on the state's culinary reputation," per a news release.

Zoom in: The inaugural honorees are:

• The Red Fox Inn & Tavern, Middleburg, opened in 1728
• Texas Inn, Lynchburg, opened in 1935
• Joe's Inn, Richmond, opened in 1952
• Black Angus, Virginia Beach, opened in 1954

• Pierce's BBQ, Williamsburg, opened in 1971
• L'Auberge Chez Francois, Great Falls, opened in 1976

Yes, but: Joe's isn't the oldest restaurant in Richmond, or even in the Fan.

• That honor belongs to Sally Bell's Kitchen, which opened 100 years ago this year.
• New York Deli (opened in 1929) and Helen's (around since 1935) aren't far behind her, though.
• The oldest in the region is the Half Way House in Chesterfield, of course, which has been serving Founding Fathers, Civil War generals and at least one French marquis since 1760.