Food and Drink
Soft opening: Big Wife's Mac n' Cheese

Photo: Ned Oliver/Axios
A new macaroni and cheese spot recently enticed me away from the boxed stuff.
What's happening: The owners of Old Original Bookbinder's Seafood & Steakhouse — a restaurant that sounds so fancy it has never occurred to me to even consider dining there — opened Big Wife's Mac n' Cheese about a month ago on Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Scott's Addition.
Richmond restaurant news: New seafood spot opens

Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
The new seafood restaurant from chefs and co-owners Lee Gregory and Bobo Catoe is finally here: Odyssey opens Thursday at the corners of Patterson and Three Chopt.
- The 40-seat restaurant is in the former Billy Pie space.
The new names in Richmond food, per Food & Wine

Welcome to Richmond, where the food is awesome and the weather is... well, 🤷🏻♀️. Illustration: Axios Visuals
Food & Wine called Richmond a "culinary powerhouse" in a new piece out Friday, and if you thought you were having a flashback to 10 years ago, you'd be wrong.
What's happening: Recent appearances — and wins — on national food competitions is "making the world take notice of the state’s capital," Food & Wine wrote, noting:
The brands behind some of Richmond's ghost kitchens

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
On Wednesday, three new restaurants will celebrate their Richmond openings, but you'll never dine in any of them.
Driving the news: ChefSuite, the latest ghost kitchen to hit town, officially opens Wednesday on Broad Street near Staples Mill.
The Girl Scout cookies available in Richmond in 1958

A 1950s Girl Scout cookies flyer from VCU Libraries' Special Collections and Archives. Photo: Ned Oliver/Axios
Here's a look at the lineup of Girl Scout cookies available for sale in the Richmond area back in 1958.
Of note: It appears Thin Mints are the sole survivor.
What technology can tell us about the state of Richmond dining in 2023

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Inflation doesn't appear to be affecting Richmonders’ willingness to dine out.
Driving the news: Richmond restaurants saw a 7% increase in transactions in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared with the same time the previous year, per a restaurants trends report released last week by Toast, a digital point-of-sale system for restaurants.
Ask Axios: When are Tio Pablo and TJ's reopening?

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
This week, we have a pair of questions from readers on restaurants that have been closed for a bit.
Question: "Tio Pablo has been 'temporarily closed' since early summer. Can you do some investigating and find out what the deal is? " asks reader Gabby T.
Richmond Black Restaurant Experience is back starting Sunday

Mobile Soul Sunday when it was at Kanawha Plaza. Photo: Courtesy of Courtney Jones
Richmond Black Restaurant Experience is back for its seventh year starting Sunday and running through next weekend.
Why it matters: The weeklong event celebrates Richmond's diverse and thriving Black culinary scene while honoring the significant historic contributions Black people made to the city and its food culture.

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