Clinton Minor will be counting his blessings this Thanksgiving. Why? Because the doors of his Scottsville café, Minor’s Diner, are still open. And if you know what’s been going on in Scottsville this past year, you know that just being open for business is cause for celebration. You see, the road has been bumpy for Scottsville restaurateurs in 2007—literally, bumpy. That’s due to Scottsville’s $1 million streetscape redesign project, which involves burying power lines along Valley Street—an effort to make Scottsville more tourist-friendly. But heavy construction, road digging and paving projects along the town’s main thoroughfare have not been restaurant friendly. Minor says he’s been struggling with the effects of the construction, which deterred folks from venturing into town and prevented them, due to repaving dust, from eating outside—a real issue for a café that, up until two months ago, only had two inside tables!
 Considering the number of Scottsville restaurants that have gone to the chopping block, Minor’s Diner owner Clinton Minor has scored a major triumph by not only keeping his place open, but expanding it as well. |
Minor and his wife, Morgan, opened the miniscule diner—"The home of Clinton’s kickin’ chicken salad"—a year and seven months ago. And their menu of sandwiches, burgers and down-home entrees like meatloaf and chicken with dumplings was an instant hit with Scottsville residents who were willing to stand several people deep in the tiny eatery to wait for a table or for takeout.
Still, Minor says business has been "up and down" due to the construction chaos. And it’s been down and down for many other Scottsville restaurants—Rivertown Rose and Java on the James have closed after being open less than a year, and the "World Famous" Dew Drop Inn closed in August after being open for more than 60 years.
But Minor is staying positive. About two months ago, he was able to expand the restaurant to include an actual dining room and a salad bar—the only one in town. And that was just about the time the major repaving was completed on Valley Street and the dust, shall we say, began to settle in Scottsville. "I’m expecting a good year next year," Minor says.
And there’s more good news for the Scottsville scene. In the spot that used to house Rivertown Rose (and before that, Brick Café), the new 330 Valley has opened. The completely gutted and renovated space now houses a nonsmoking, family-friendly restaurant on one side and a sports bar and lounge with live music on the other side. This new venture comes from building owner Stephan Hawranke and his partners, John Keaton and Michael Cook. The pub-like eatery is both comfy and airy with its light wood and clean lines. And it’s been warmly received. Hawranke says one local told him, "This is the best thing that’s happened to Scottsville since they built the levy."
Currently, 330 Valley is the only full-service, full-bar restaurant for miles around, says Keaton. But another is on the horizon. Hawranke and Keaton are still renovating the old Magnolia restaurant space, and by next summer they plan to open a fine dining restaurant called Horseshoe Bend Tavern, which will serve steaks and "cuisine from around the world," says Keaton.
Speaking of fine dining, Scottsville’s High Meadows Inn, which closed in 2006, has reopened with freshened up paint and interiors under the capable hands of Cynthia Bruce and her mother, Nancy. At this point, Bruce is only cooking for Inn guests, but she’s renovating the English tavern-esque basement dining room and plans to start hosting regular wine dinners by next summer.
Quick bites
Word is a new wine bar called Crush will open around December 1 in the space across from La Taza Coffee House in Belmont. The folks behind this one are Paul and Nan Coleman, investors in Orzo Kitchen and Wine Bar, and Greg Oxley. We know what some of you are saying: Another flippin’ wine bar? But Restaurantarama can’t get enough of them. In our opinion, there should be a coffee shop and a wine bar on every corner so that Restaurantarama can get caffeinated, anti-oxidant-ated and just plain buzzed wherever and whenever necessary.
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