Lucky AF opens in Short Pump Saturday, Forest Hill in August
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The Lucky AF at Short Pump Town Center. Image: Courtesy of Lauren Core/EAT Restaurant Partners
Lucky AF's newest Richmond-area location opens Saturday in the former Baker's Crust space at Short Pump Town Center.
Why it matters: It's the first of three new local restaurants ownership group Eat Restaurant Partners will open this summer — including another for Short Pump and one in Forest Hill.
State of play: The Short Pump Lucky AF is Eat's "fresh and fun take on the modern sushi restaurant," per the group, who opened the original location in Scott's Addition in 2020.
- On the menu: Bento boxes ($22.90-$26.70), fried rice and poke bowls ($15.90-$19.90), and dozens of traditional and specialty rolls ($6.70-$23.70), like a Boujie AF roll with tempura lobster, filet mignon and four styles of caviar.
- If you go: Lucky AF Short Pump is near Lehja and open daily for lunch and dinner.
Fun fact: The AF stands for Asian Fusion and its third Richmond location will open by mid-August, Eat president and founder Chris Tsui tells Axios.
- That one is in the works at 4701 Forest Hill Ave., on the ground floor of the Evelyn building near Janet's Cafe & Bakery in South Richmond.
🇮🇹 But first, also aiming for a by-August opening, is Civita Italia, an upscale chef-driven Italian restaurant that'll specialize in housemade pasta and Italian classics in GreenGate in Short Pump.
- Civita is a reunion of sorts for Tsui and chef Kevin LaCivita, who worked together on The Blue Goat, the ahead-of-its-time snout-to-tail Near West End restaurant they opened in 2011.
- LaCivita also owned and operated two iterations of European-inspired restaurant Pomegranate, first in Shockoe Slip in the early aughts and later Carytown.
Zoom out: Eat is the largest independent restaurant operator in Richmond. Their other concepts include: Fat Dragon, PBR, Red Salt, Wild Ginger, Osaka, Wong's Tacos and Boulevard Burger & Brew.
- Most of their restaurants have Asian-influenced menus, but all boast stellar menus, fun and funky vibes, cool cocktails and weekday happy hour deals.
The bottom line: Richmond's summer restaurant lineup is about to get a lot bigger.