Michael Keaveny confirms rumors that he is no longer heading Red Light Management’s restaurant operations for Coran Capshaw.
"It was a mutual split, it was amicably, and I am moving on to do what I have always wanted to do, which is, do something on my own," Keaveny said.
"I am a chef by trade and this job has given me the opportunity to make the connections and learn about the Charlottesville dining scene. It gives me a lot of confidence in moving forward and finding a space to do something on my own."
Stu Rifkin, a commercial realtor who owns a share of The Nook, will fill in for Keaveny, but he stresses that he is not an employee of Red Light Management and is simply doing it as a courtesy.
"The only thing that has come down is that I have met with the management of the restaurants this week," says Rifkin, "and I am there to, at this point, plug a hole [since] they no longer have anyone in between them and the accounting department. I’m self-employed, and I like it that way."
How best to describe his role? "’Consigliere’ is the word that I like right now," Rifkin says. "But again, I’ve got a day job, and I enjoy it."—with additional reporting by Will Goldsmith