Nearly every restaurant that opened on or near the Downtown Mall this fall came from people who already ran something in Charlottesville. The owners of the Fitzroy opened a sports bar two blocks from their own front door. The founder of Public Fish & Oyster moved a block off the Mall. A sushi chef whose last counter closed in February came back with six seats. The man behind Brazos Tacos put his name on a Main Street door.
The rooms are familiar too. Almost every new name downtown this season replaced a name locals already knew.
Old Addresses, New Names
| Address | What it was | What it is now |
|---|---|---|
| 106 South St. | South Street Brewery | South Street Tavern |
| 609 E. Market St. | Tonic | The Hideaway |
| 111 E. Main St. | Brasserie Saison, then Bonny & Read | Speeds Public |
| 1001 W. Main St. | Kung Fu Tea | Bonchon |
Three of those four rooms went to operators who already ran businesses in the city. The fourth carries a national chain's name, but the franchisee behind it is a Charlottesville resident.
The Fitzroy's Owners Built What Their Regulars Asked For
South Street Tavern opened Oct. 7 at 106 South St., in the space South Street Brewery left in April when its owners shifted their focus to Blue Mountain Brewery in Nelson County, according to The Daily Progress. Co-owners Richard Ridge and Ryan Rooney also run the Fitzroy on the Downtown Mall. Ridge told the paper the idea came from conversations at that bar.
"In conversations with our customers [at the Fitzroy], people were telling us that they would love to have a sports bar downtown."
The building is a warehouse built in 1916. The brewing equipment that ran South Street Brewery for nearly 30 years is gone. In its place is a 50-foot bar and 20 televisions. Ridge said he wants those screens to carry the WNBA, golf and smaller college sports along with UVA football and the MLB playoffs. The kitchen has a dedicated gluten-free fryer and grill, so wings and fries come with a full gluten-free menu alongside the standard one.
Ridge was also direct about the location. He told The Daily Progress the block doesn't get Mall-level foot traffic. He is counting on the Gleason condominium and office building and the ACAC fitness club next door, plus the surface parking lot outside.
Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 4 p.m. to midnight, and Friday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to midnight. Closed Tuesdays.
Public Fish & Oyster Moved a Block Off the Mall
Daniel Kaufman built his restaurants on West Main Street in Starr Hill: Public Fish & Oyster in 2014, the Bottle House wine shop and bar in 2020, and Black Cow Chophouse in 2023. His fourth room, The Hideaway, is at 609 E. Market St. in the old Michie Company building. It took over the space Tonic left last December, and it kept Tonic's covered patio.
The menu is meant to cover what Public doesn't. The Daily Progress reported that The Hideaway serves whole lobster, where Public serves lobster rolls. It also serves fish and chips, which Public's kitchen had never been able to make consistently. Alex Balbus, who set up Public's raw bar when it first opened, runs the raw bar here. He serves oysters from Virginia and the East Coast plus a rotating selection from the West. The restaurant's team page lists Jay Gutierrez, formerly head chef at Café Frank on the Mall, as head chef, and Johnny Garver as partner and culinary consultant.
The name is a play on Public. The building isn't hidden, though. It faces the Charlottesville police station, and The Daily Progress newsroom is one of its tenants.
Hours: According to The Hideaway's FAQ, it is open Thursday through Monday from 4 p.m. and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Last seating is 9:30 p.m., or 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
A Chef Back Behind Six Seats
Chef Yoshihiro Tauchi's second act is the smallest one downtown this fall. After Omakase Obscura closed in February, he opened Sanga Omakase on Aug. 19. It is a six-seat sushi counter inside North American Sake Brewery, and the menu uses the brewery's koji and kasu. C-VILLE Weekly reported in September that the counter was already booked through the end of the year.
Sanga's location page lists two seatings, at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. It is reservation only, and the reservations page offers a sign-up for alerts when new seats open.
The Next Familiar Names
The newest names follow the same pattern.
Speeds Public, 111 E. Main St. Peter Griesar played keyboards in the Dave Matthews Band from 1991 to 1993. He co-owns Brazos Tacos, which began as a pop-up at IX Art Park in 2014 and grew into two brick-and-mortar locations, according to The Daily Progress. His new venture, Speeds Public, is in the Mall space that held Brasserie Saison and then Bonny & Read. It had its pre-opening health inspection Sept. 24. In a Bluesky post, Brazos Tacos announced a Thursday-through-Sunday preview opening for its "cousin restaurant" and said Speeds Public is "very different than Brazos as far as vibe and food, but similarly community minded."
Charlottesville Cupcake, 402 Commerce St. Tami Resch of MarieBette and Joel Cuellar are behind this shop across from Jefferson School park. It was slated for a November opening and will carry the cupcakes Resch's MarieBette regulars know plus new flavors, according to The Charlottesville 29.
Riversong Cafe, on the Rivanna Trail. This one is outside downtown, but it comes from the same kind of operator. Rivanna River Company, the outfitter already on the river, opened a coffee trailer on Oct. 1, NBC29 reported.
Even the Chain on West Main Has a Local Owner
Bonchon, the South Korean fried chicken chain, took over the former Kung Fu Tea at 1001 W. Main St., between Starbucks and Q Noodles. The franchisee is Kezia Woods. She told The Daily Progress she had been a regular at Bonchon in college, found none nearby once she was living in Charlottesville, and applied to become a franchisee. It was open by Aug. 26, NBC29 reported. C-VILLE Weekly reported that it is the company's 500th location worldwide. The menu has double-fried chicken brushed to order with soy garlic, spicy or yangnyeom sauce, plus bibimbap, japchae, tteokbokki, and Korean donuts with sweet cream.
Some longtime West Main businesses are moving on. Pro Camera planned to leave 711 W. Main St. for Richmond by mid-November. The Daily Progress reported that customers can still drop off film and small orders at Stock Provisions after the move.
Where the Next Openings Will Come From
Before a new food business can open, the Blue Ridge Health District does a pre-opening inspection. The Cville Journal tracks those inspections in a roundup it rebuilds monthly, and its own note says an inspection is not an opening date. The roundup updated Oct. 18 lists a few addresses to watch through the winter:
- Rockfish Brewing Company, 600 Concord Ave. Pre-opening inspection on Oct. 5. The city's economic development office also listed the company as preparing a new location at 600 Concord.
- Cafe 88, 923 Preston Ave. Change-of-owner inspection on Oct. 2.
- Acacia Blue, 221 Carlton Road. Pre-opening inspection on Sept. 29.
- Rum Punch Jamaican, a food truck based at 522 Second St. SE. Its mobile unit and menu were approved Sept. 19.
- Cloud Nine Asian Bistro and Bakery, a caterer cooking from a commissary kitchen at 1118 Preston Ave. Pre-opening inspection on Sept. 3.
Taken together, the fall's openings put a new South Street sports bar, a raw bar a block off the Mall and a six-seat sushi counter within walking distance of each other. Speeds Public on the Mall and Charlottesville Cupcake on Commerce Street extend the list.
Our team follows which downtown rooms are changing hands because these are the places our clients and neighbors eat, meet and bring visiting family. If you'd like more local recommendations, or want to know how a block like South Street or East Market fits into your own plans in Charlottesville, Denise Ramey Real Estate is glad to talk it through. Contact Us.
