UPDATE: The Empress opens the doors for a Grand Soiree on April 28. The restaurant’s grand opening will offer complimentary heavy hors d'oeuvres of menu items and wine tasting.
I have to admit, when I first heard Rick Lyons, of The Republic, mention that he and partner Page Cassada were working as silent partners to help open another restaurant two doors from their exiting one, I was confused.
I mean, they'd just opened a new restaurant on the block, so why would they want another one there, and what could be the draw?
Then I stopped by The Empress, the aforementioned restaurant, now open for less than two weeks at 2043 W. Broad St. and I chatted with owner Melissa Barlow.
Whereas The Republic is one big party of beer, bourbon, burgers and, let's be honest, cigarettes, The Empress is more refined. It's the pretty little sister of the loud, overzealous homecoming king that is The Republic.
Don't get me wrong, I love The Republic. I love any place that offers a great happy hour, better than average bar fare, live music and perfectly legal public displays of tobacco intake, if you feel like sitting on that side, but sometimes I'm in the mood for something a little more low-key.
Maybe I want to sip a latte and munch on homemade muffins and crepes while I quietly surf the net. Or maybe I want to meet friends for a lunch of salad and paninis and enjoy a fun, new white wine. A more substantial dinner? Wine tasting? Dessert and coffee?
Now Richmond can do them all in the light, airy atmosphere of The Empress, seven days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.
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My favorite thing about The Empress: the just dessert concept. The Empress plans to serve dessert until 1 a.m. every night of the week and hopes that Richmonders will pop by for dessert and coffee, or wine, or port. It's a fantastic concept in a town where, generally, the kind of restaurants that stay open past 10 are not the kind of restaurants where you want to grab dessert.
A shot, maybe, but dessert no. And The Empress boasts a rotating menu of at least five house-made desserts, plus nightly specials.
For owner Melissa Barlow, it's all about catering to the clientele and offering them the kind of laid-back experience that she likes when dining out. The menu is portioned, and priced, for sharing (nothing on the menu is over $13) so that diners won't feel they can only afford an appetizer and dessert.
In the coming weeks, Barlow hopes to add wine tastings, happy hour special and, along with The Republic, an enclosed patio that will stretch half a city block. In the meantime though, The Empress is certainly a new restaurant worth checking out.
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