Sherita McGowan, the owner of Croaker’s Spot, Richmond's long-standing, legendary soul seafood restaurant, was surprised when she found out the restaurant had earned a spot on "America's Best Restaurants."
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Nick Mammone with America’s Best Restaurants films as Miguel Rodrigiuz plates food at Croaker's Spot on February 23, 2024, in Petersburg, Va.
The interior of Croaker’s Spot on February 23, 2024, in Petersburg, Va.
Sarabeth Hagen, owner and chef at SB’s Lakeside Love Shack, is also featured on "America's Best Restaurants."
75 Richmond-area restaurants that opened this year
Beaucoup
Beaucoup, located at 111 N. Robinson St., is a new cocktail and oysters restaurant owned by Donnie Glass and Eli Adams. Glass also owns Grisette and Jardin.
Lillian
Lillian, the buzzworthy new oyster hall from Patrick and Megan Phelan, opened at 3001 W. Leigh St. in Scott's Addition in January.
West End
West End, a new tapas and cocktail bar, opened at The Park in January.
Importante Bodega Bar
Importante Bodega Bar, a new tapas and wine bar, opened in Carytown at 3031 W. Cary St.
River City Wood Fire Pizza
River City Wood Fire Pizza, a longtime Richmond food truck, has opened a new brick-and-mortar at 2300 Genito Road in Powhatan.
Chipotle
The new Chipotle Mexican Grill at 15500 Hull Street Road in Chesterfield County has a drive-thru pickup lane.
Raising Cane's
The new Raising Cane's across from the Diamond at 3064 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard is now open.
Bad As Philly
Bad As Philly, a fast-casual cheesesteak shop, is now open in the Fan at 2001½ W. Main St. in Richmond.
Brecotea Bakery & Café
Brecotea Bakery & Café, an Asian-inspired bakery that sells desserts and boba tea, has opened a new location in Midlothian at 11544 Busy St.
Pho 60 Café
Pho 60 Café, a new Vietnamese restaurant, is now open at 10201 Midlothian Turnpike.
The Hive Bar and Grill
The Hive Bar & Grill and The Hive Market are now open in Jackson Ward at 23 W. Marshall St.
KavaClub
KavaClub will open Feb. 23 serving kombucha and nonalcoholic cocktails. It hopes to be able to start serving kava in March. KavaClub is located at 1529 W. Main St.
Smoke & Barrel
Smoke & Barrel is now open at 2329 W. Main St. in the former Lady N'Awlins spot. Smoke & Barrel serves elevated Southern cuisine and craft cocktails. Read the story.
1870
1870, a French-inspired steak house from Chef David Dunlap of Midlothian Chef's Kitchen, opens April 23 at 13310 Midlothian Turnpike in the heart of Midlothian. Read the story.
Cafe & Sabor
Cafe & Sabor opened a second location at 7807 W. Broad St in Richmond.
The Colombian restaurant, bakery and coffee roastery is open for breakfast through dinner, serving freshly ground and roasted coffee, pastries, arepas and heartier meat dishes. Read the story.
The Mantu Express
Chef Hamidullah Noori of The Mantu in Carytown will be opening The Mantu Express in the former Two Guys Pizza location at 11636 W. Broad St in Short Pump. Until it becomes The Mantu Express, it will operate as Two Guys Pizza. Read the story.
ML Steak Chesterfield
ML Steak is now open at Chesterfield Town Center. The modern chophouse from the Lindsey Food Group features filet flights with different toppings, seafood and fried chicken sandwiches from sister restaurant Buttermilk + Honey. Read the story.
Lalo's Margaritas
Lalo's Margaritas is now open at 5714 Patterson Ave. It's the sixth restaurant from restaurateur Eduardo “Lalo” Macias serving tacos, burritos, steak, seafood and its signature margaritas. Read the story.
The Bowl Vietnamese Cuisine
The Bowl Vietnamese Cuisine is now open at 15270 WC Main St., Midlothian in Westchester Commons. The new spot features a variety of hot stone pho bowls, noodle bowls, rice vermicelli, banh mi and more.
Blue Bee Cider
The new owners of Blue Bee Cider moved to a new location at 4811 Bethlehem Road near Libbie Mill Midtown. Read the story.
Tito's Taqueria
Tito’s Taqueria & Bar recently opened in the former Mojo's spot at 733 W. Cary St. near VCU. It specializes in street tacos and Instagram-worthy cocktails and margaritas. Read the story.
Take a look at the following restaurants and breweries that closed or announced they will be closing this year.
Taco Bamba
The first Richmond location of Taco Bamba at 1601 Willow Lawn Drive is now open. Read the story.
Shake Shack Midlothian
The Midlothian Shake Shack at 1371 Huguenot Road, near Raising Cane's and Torchy's Tacos, is now open. Read the story.
Marylous
Marylous upscale soul food is now open at 1323 West Main Street in the former Postbellum spot. Read the story.
Parlay at Graybo's
Parlay at Graybo’s is a new sports bar and card shop in Scott’s Addition at 3117 W. Leigh St. in Scott’s Addition in the former Circuit Arcade Bar spot. Read the story.
Eggs Up Grill Mechanicsville
A new Eggs Up Grill is now open at 6593 Mechanicsville Turnpike in Brandy Creek Commons. Read the story.
Oh Mochi
Oh Mochi, the Richmond sweet shop serving mochi donuts, Korean corn dogs and boba tea, has opened an outpost at The Park at 1407 Cummings Drive. Read the story.
Trouvaille
Trouvaille is now open in the Fan at 203 N. Lombardy St. in the former Balliceaux spot. Read the story.
Texas Inn
The Lynchburg diner that's been serving Cheesy Westerns and chili beans since 1935 has opened a location in Richmond in the Museum District at 2901 Park Ave. Read the story.
Tiny Vegan
Tiny Vegan, a popular vegan food trailer, opened a take-out spot in Carytown at 104 S. Sheppard St.
Baltik's Bagels
Baltik’s Bagels is opening in the former Go Bird location at 6801 Forest Hill Ave. It will soft open the week of Oct. 7 and give away free bagels during select hours. It will open for regular hours starting Oct. 14. Read the story.
Southern Kitchen
Southern Kitchen is now open in its new location at Stony Point Fashion Park, 9210 Stony Point Pkwy., Ste. 116. Read the story.
Davvero Gelato
Layne Montgomery has opened Davvero Gelato Shop, featuring from-scratch, hand-made gelato, located at 6931 Lakeside Ave. Read the story.
CAVA Chesterfield
Cava opened another Richmond-area location last week at 9959 Iron Bridge Road in Chesterfield. This is the sixth Cava in the Richmond area. Read the story.
The Mantu Express
The Mantu Express, from Chef Hamidullah Noori of The Mantu, has opened at 11636 W. Broad St., next to Regal Short Pump cinemas.
The Mantu Express serves modern Afghan cuisine with Mediterranean influences in a fast-casual setting, as well as pizza, stromboli and calzones. Read the story.
Toast Scott's Walk
Toast New American Gastropub is now open in the Scott’s Walk retail/restaurant project across from The Diamond. It is one of the few locally owned restaurants to go into the new retail space, which also has a Raising Cane’s and a Chipotle. Read the story.
Sweet P's
Sweet P’s, a New American restaurant, is now open in downtown Richmond at 304 W. Broad St. from chef Antonio Owen who owns Chef Antyo. Read the story.
Latitude Seafood Co.
Latitude Seafood Co. opened a new location at 14440 Hull Street Road in Chesterfield's Duckridge Landing overlooking the water.
Devil's Lettuce Vegan Food Joint
Devil’s Lettuce Vegan Food Joint, is set to open the first week of September in the new location at 9050 W. Broad St. in Henrico. Read the story.
Cookie Chris
19-year old Chris Knight Jr. opened Cookie Chris in Short Pump at 11571 W. Broad St. Read the story
Zorch Pizza Parlor
Zorch Pizza has opened its second location at 7524 Forest Hill Ave. in the former home of Don’t Look Back South. Read the story.
Brecotea Bakery & Café
Brecotea Bakery & Café opened its fourth location in the Richmond area. The latest Brecotea is located at 13628 Hull Street Road in Midlothian. Read the story.
Saladworks Frutta Bowl
A combination Saladworks and Frutta Bowl has opened at Duckridge Landing in Chesterfield at 14446 Hull Street Road.
Kline's Dairy Bar
Kline’s Dairy Bar, which originally opened in Harrisonburg in 1943, has opened a new location at 15589 Cosby Road in Chesterfield. Read the story.
Mudhouse Coffee
Charlottesville's Mudhouse Coffee is opening its first Richmond location downtown at 418 W. Broad St. It soft opens Aug. 5, and fully opens starting Aug. 19. Read the story.
Le Box Lunch
Le Box Lunch in Chesterfield is under new ownership and reopened at 300 Arboretum Place in Chesterfield. The new owners are Trey Owens of Soul Taco and JewFro, along with Scootie Logan and Missy Mangrum of The Original Ronnie’s BBQ. Read the story.
Cochiloco
Cochiloco, an authentic taqueria from guys behind Y Tu Mama, has opened in Scott's Addition at 3340 W. Moore St. Read the story.
Kali Love
Kali Love, from the Lindsey Food Group, opens in Chesterfield Towne Center on June 12. Kali Love will offer California cuisine with a mix of Mediterranean, Italian, Asian and Mexican dishes. Read the story.
Stock Bistro & Bar
Stock Bistro & Bar, a full restaurant inside the new Txtur furniture store in Manchester, serves up a Nordic-inspired menu at 604 Hull St. Read the story.
Raising Cane's, Glen Allen
Raising Cane's has opened a location in Glen Allen at 10093 Brook Road. Read the story.
Gather & Hem
Gather & Hem is a new cocktail lounge with upscale cocktails and shareable plates in the Hilton Richmond Downtown at 501 E. Broad St.
Maracuchos Fast Food RVA
Venezuelan restaurant Maracuchos Fast Food RVA has opened at 13979 Raised Antler Circle in Midlothian. Read the story.
Memi's
Memi's Egyptian restaurant is now open in the Fan in the Barrio spot. Named after Memi Yacoub, pictured here. Read the story.
Susie’s Café & Deli
Susie’s Café & Deli is now open in the former Hop Craft Pizza and Beer spot at 1600 W. Cary St. Susie’s is known for its weekly pop-ups and Mediterranean-style Jewish cuisine. Read the story.
Die By Fry
Die By Fry, a dedicated French fry shop, opened at 111 W. Brookland Park Blvd., from the owner of Slay Burgers. Read the story.
Corner Rock Café
Corner Rock Café is now open in Midlothian, serving Black Hand Coffee, Belgian waffles and bagel sandwiches, as well as ice cream and cocktails. It is located at 3734 Winterfield Road, Suite 100. Read the story.
B-Side Bakehouse
B-Side Bakehouse is now open at 707 N. Sheppard St. in the Museum District. Read the story.
Goldwing
Goldwing cocktail bar is now open from the owners of Fighting Fish at 910 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd. Read the story.
Bar-Q
Bar-Q, a craft barbecue joint, is now open in the former SB's Main Street Love Shack at 2600 W. Main St. Read the story.
The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill
The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill is now open at The Shoppes at Belvedere at 11458 Belvedere Vista Lane in Midlothian. Read the story.
Secret Squares
The popular Detroit-style pizza pop has opened for pre-order take-out in Church Hill at 306 N. 29th St. Place an order
Hots & Brats
Hots & Brats is now open at 3111 W. Cary Street in the former Carytown Cupcakes spot. Read the story.
