Author: restaurantarama

Some people—Julie Andrews, John Coltrane—like their brown paper packages tied up with string. But we love brown paper when it’s taped up all over storefront windows—especially at this time of year. It’s the telltale sign that the restaurant elves are busy making all new kitchen toys for all of us good little boys and girls. And like wee ones in anticipation of Christmas morning, Restaurantarama almost can’t sleep just thinking about ripping off all of that paper and discovering what new dining wonders await for us inside. And there is a lot of brown paper out there right now. It’s like, well, Christmas!

Waiting for the The Box to open: Chas Webster (left) is one of the owners of a new establishment in the old Atomic Burrito space that they’re calling The Box, tentatively planned to start up in time for a New Year’s celebration.

Lucky for us, we have a direct line to a few elves who were willing to give us a sneak peek inside some of those packages. Chris Kabbash, a restaurant business broker involved in many of the dining deals around here, gave us some scoop on two places. First—drum roll please—it’s the old Atomic Burrito space. After a much-discussed closing of the tiny, Second Street SE venue, beloved as much for its generous late night music scene as for its generous grub, the space has changed hands officially and work has begun on its transformation. Kabbash tells us that the new owners, Michael Fitzgerald, Chas Webster and John Adamson, have yet to finalize the new direction of the place—which they are calling The Box—but he says that they will continue "the same sort of Atomic music scene." Rock on! And Kabbash says that they tentatively are planning to open in time for a New Year’s celebration. Rock on again!

Second, Kabbash tells us that Savour—the dining establishment from Ed Nafei that has been "Coming soon" to the old Hong Kong space on Emmet Street for quite a while now—is getting, well, a lot closer to the "coming" part. His says the new kitchen is in place and a new bar is not far behind. Restaurantarama sneaked a peek in the windows, which, conveniently, are covered in a much more transparent plastic, and saw that indeed the place is getting a major spiff-up. Kabbash says Nafei is working toward an opening at the beginning of the new year. (Read our April 2007 interview with Nafei for the full story behind Savour).

And we bring you tidings of Siips, the new wine bar going in the old April’s Corner space on the Downtown Mall. Owner George Benford tells us the place will open December 21 and that it will have a new name—it now will be called Siips Wine and Champagne Bar (emphasis added). Yep, in addition to the 80-plus wines by the glass that Siips eventually will have on hand, Benford says Siips will offer 10-15 sparkling wines by the glass from various regions—France, Italy, Spain, Australia, California and Virginia—as well as the usual champagne bar fixins’ ( e.g., caviar, paté). It seems wine bars and retail shops are multiplying as of late, but ain’t nobody doin’ a champagne bar as far as we know, so we thank Benford for filling this now so obvious void.

If all of this doesn’t have visions of pick-your-favorite-food-or-spirit dancing in your head, note that several other pending establishments we’ve been telling you about are soon to come on line. There’s the new Aromas at Barracks Road shopping center, Olivaté at the Albemarle Square Shopping Center, Chaps’ new canopy and outdoor eating space to come in 2008, the unveiling of the mystery restaurant next to Crush in Belmont and the expected launch of a third Arch’s on Emmet Street.

And if you are just too excited to wait for the opening of those presents, you could always check out Beer Run, which will have opened on Carlton Road by the time you read this. This shop/bar/restaurant offers beer on tap and to go, retail wine, espresso, breakfast munchies, lunches and dinners. If they offered a bed and some clean towels, we might just move in.

Got some restaurant scoop? Send tips to restaurantarama@c-ville.com or call 817-2749, Ext. 48.

We’re not ones to feed stereotypes—usually. But we think it’s a shame if a big Italian family saves all of its spaghetti for itself and doesn’t share its genetic predisposition toward premier pasta-making with the general public. So it’s about time that the Oliva family has chosen to get out of their own kitchens and open up a restaurant.

First step: finish interior; second step: make pasta. Dick Oliva (front), owner of Olivaté, and his daughter, Heather and nephew, Jonathan Gianakos, who will be the restaurant’s general managers, know just how it works.

Dick and Linda Oliva, owners of Ceramico Tile Co, are opening Olivaté in the old Fat Daddy’s space in the Albemarle Square Shopping Center, and they are calling upon beloved family recipes ( e.g., Grandma’s spaghetti sauce with pepperoni; Linda’s stuffed mushrooms) as well as local family members’ sweat equity—Dick and Linda’s daughter, Heather, and their nephew, Jonathan Gianakos will be general managers—to launch their eponymous establishment.  

The old Fat Daddy’s digs are getting a major makeover with, you guessed it, ceramic tile, which Heather and Jonathan were busy grouting when we stopped by to check in. And the kitchen and interiors are getting stripped of TVs and spiffed up to make way for linen-adorned tables and finer dining than what came before at this 29N strip mall location tucked between Chandler’s Bakery and Circuit City. As for how Olivaté will differ in terms of allure and longevity from the establishments that previously inhabited the space (before it was Fat Daddy’s, it was Winner’s Circle Grill, and before that, it was Tiny Mac), Heather says, "Those places were focused on the bar. We’ll be focusing on gourmet food and fine service—we want to know our customers by name."

Heather says Olivaté will be Italian in style, yes—but not in the food sense. Well, not exclusively, anyway—Heather tells us that in addition to lots of pastas and parmesan, Olivaté will serve more American fare, such as steak and tuna entrees and her dad’s bacon barbeque shrimp appetizer and creamy crab soup. No, when she says Olivaté will be Italian in style, she means that it will reflect that quintessential Italian sensibility of making good food and serving it in a classy but warm and homey atmosphere that pays homage to that good food—all of which encourages diners to linger over their linguini, kiss their fingers and say things like "delizioso!" with complete sincerity and contextual authenticity.

On the subject of longevity, Heather tells us that there currently are 22 grandchildren in the Oliva family. We take that to mean there are plenty of nonunionized stagehands around to keep this show running for quite awhile. Look for the Oliva dining dynasty to open around the end of the year.

Goodies on the go

Speaking of dynasties, Christian Trendel and his Ciao! Catering company have expanded their claims to the east end of the Downtown Mall. In addition to doing all of the catering for the Charlottesville Pavilion, Ciao! is now serving up quick lunches, and eventually will serve quick breakfasts, at the new Transit Café in the Downtown Transit Center.  We stopped by and found veteran Chef Trendel himself behind the counter, which likely is why the humble sandwich we ordered—curried chicken salad on a croissant—was, like, way better than typical municipal munchies.

Help wanted

Finally, a reader moving to the Charlottesville area recently wrote to Restaurantarama seeking help in discovering available chef positions. After patting ourselves on the back for being recognized as oh-so-tapped-in to the restaurant scene, we did what anyone would do and opened up the pages of our own C-VILLE classifieds for information. There we found ads for employment at such places as Michael’s Bistro, Timberwood Grille and Court Square Tavern, plus an ad for positions at "a rapidly growing restaurant group," which we are pretty sure is Coran Capshaw’s dining empire. You see, unlike our glut of attorneys and architects, Charlottesville’s glut of restaurants seems a constant source for new job opportunities, so keep looking Mr.-I’m-moving-to-Charlottesville-and-need-a-chef-job—we know you’ll find something soon!

Got some restaurant scoop? Send tips to restaurantarama@c-ville.com or call 817-2749, Ext. 48.

First they got themselves a coffee shop (La Taza), then a jazz club (Saxx), the Bridge/ Progressive Arts Institute, their own BBQ spot and now a neighborhood wine and cheese shop. Some call it Soho, some call them Bobos (Bourgeois Bohemians, that is)—but we just call them damn lucky for living within walking distance of all of life’s daily necessities—caffeine, cranky juice and a little culture. Yep, this week, Belmonters will get one more reason to rub our noses in their utter urban convenience. As of press time, Crush Wine Shop is scheduled to open Saturday, December 8. And what owner Paul Coleman tells us he wants most of all is to "feed off the energy of the neighborhood." 

Belmont stakes: Paul Coleman (right) and his wife, Nan, along with their business partner Greg Oxley, have upped the ante on the transformation of the Belmont neighborhood business section with the opening of their Crush Wine Shop.

Coleman and his wife, Nan, (both investors in Orzo Kitchen and Wine Bar) are launching the wine and gourmet food retail shop with partner Greg Oxley (a transplant from Atlanta with 20 years in the wine biz) in a turn-of-the-century building across from La Taza on Hinton Avenue. With its cleaned-up, retro, glass store front, tin ceiling and tasting bar made from reclaimed wood, the place does seem to fit perfectly within Belmont’s refurbished vibe.

And in an apparent riff off of those rejuvenated yet rustic interiors, Coleman says, Crush’s wares will be gourmet but not overpriced (yep—you just read "not overpriced" and "Belmont" in the same article). Crush will hock wines from around the world, but will focus on a somewhat manageable $10-20 a bottle price range and will offer tastings in a "casual" manner and not in the "overly quiet and intimidating" way that you often encounter at wine bars and shops, says Coleman.

Coleman says that he and his partners want to take the "mystique" out of wine selection and that they’ll do that by offering wine and culinary classes and creating a friendly neighborhood shop sensibility where you can stop by and get your nightly bottle and fresh bread and cheese and, oh, maybe sample some imported chocolate and 25-year-old balsamic vinegar before you go. And he says Crush will up the casual factor with TVs playing educational stuff such as the Travel Channel and the Food Network. Because, really, who can feel intimidated when Paula Deen is up there yapping about deep-fried butter balls?

Well, if you have blue blood like us, all of this democratic wine accessibility seems just a little too proletarian, no? Not to fear—Oxley says there’ll be something for every taste and level of wine knowledge. "We’ll be like Baskin-Robbins, only with 300 flavors instead of 31," he says. He’s, of course, speaking of the number of bottle selections that Crush will have packed into its 1,000-square-foot space.

Of course that makes us think—if Belmonters ever get their own ice cream shop, they might as well declare statehood.

Drink smart

A glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away. That’s old news. But how about drinking a decadent martini to your health? Bashir’s Taverna—the Downtown Mall’s go-to place for falafel and belly dancing—now has an ABC license and a menu of antioxidant-adorned cocktails. "Other people focus on the alcohol, but we’re focusing on the additives," says owner Bashir Khelafa.  He and his wife, Kathy, have branded their healthy cocktail concoctions "smartinis" and are mixing vitamin-packed wild berries and herbs and spices with the hard stuff so you can feel good about your buzz. Bashir says the healthy cocktail line is a project that has been two years in the making. Sheesh, we guess it takes a while to infuse some vitality in that vodka.

Worried that you’ll feel too much like a goody two-shoes for getting some salubrity with your liquor?  Well, with names such as the Flamenco and the Turkish Delight, these cocktails sound just as sinful to us as the less free-radicalized fare. Still, if you prefer to live on the edge, Bashir’s also now offers Cosmopolitans and other classic cocktails.

Got some restaurant scoop? Send tips to restaurantarama@c-ville.com or call 817-2749, Ext. 48.

"Bodo’s knows nothing about ‘coming soon.’" That’s how Chaps’ owner Tony LaBua responded to us when we inquired this summer about his plans to renovate Chaps’ front façade. Of course, LaBua is referring to the now infamous sign (that, in fact, only said "Coming") indicating Bodo’s Bagel Bakery‘s pending expansion to the Corner, which remained for, like, eons before the Corner location finally opened.

Farewell, familiar front: Chaps’ owner Tony LaBua plans to add a new service window to replace the coffee cart, as well as a telescoping, rolling bar that can extend under a new large canopy in good weather.

Wow, you’re a bit of an exaggerator, aren’t you, LaBua?  Well, that’s what we thought until he told us that he’s been planning on creating an open air seating area in front of his Downtown Mall restaurant since he first opened the place 22 years ago. O.K., Bodo’s got nothing on you. But then again, LaBua’s original dream is now becoming a reality rather quickly. Earlier this summer, the city’s Board of Architectural Review approved the majority of LaBua’s plans to renovate the front of his 1950s-style ice cream shop and diner, including by creating a sliding glass front door to completely open up the front of the restaurant in warm weather and by replacing the facade with stucco. Then, last Tuesday, the BAR approved the final piece of the puzzle—a large canopy that will extend over the new open seating area to create a ’50s beach bar kind of vibe.

You can just visualize the kind of hypnotic effect that opening up Chaps’ retro interior and atmosphere to the outside world will have on even the most cynical of Mall passers-by. Even the most hardened of hipster hearts will feel beckoned like beach blanket babes to Chaps’ classic teal furnishings, Coca-Cola paraphernalia and bee-bop tunes in the background.

But no worries about totally being stuck in a time warp. LaBua says the renovation will include lots of New Age features, such as a new service window (which will replace the coffee cart out front), a telescoping, rolling bar that can extend under the canopy in good weather and back inside the restaurant in bad, and speakers and screens inside the canopy for entertainment.

So now that Chaps has the city’s stamp of approval, just when might we expect to be slurping our Chaps’ ice cream in the sunshine? To that question, LaBua gives us another smirk. O.K., we know—Bodo’s knows nothing about coming soon.

Eat good

Now it’s the thyme, once again, to mention the latest way you can give back with your gut. Yes, it’s the Take Thyme for Women’s Health dinner on December 5 at Alumni Hall. A four-course dinner paired with local wines will be prepared by The Clifton Inn‘s Dean Maupin, Duner’s‘ Laura Walke, Maya‘s Christian Kelly, and Fred Bossardt of Simply Delicious Catering. Tickets are $90 and proceeds will support Women’s Health Virginia’s education, research and outreach programs. Thyme to put your money where your mouth is. For information and reservations, check out www.womenshealthvirginia.org or call 434-220-4500.

Quick bites

And finally, some sad news. Andreas Gaynor, who has been spending his days at Kiki, serving up healthy lunch fare and juices for all the yogis and yogi-posers, is leaving our little nest for sunnier skies—like, really sunny skies. California, in fact. Andreas, we asked, what does Cali have that the ol’ Charlottesville doesn’t (besides more traffic, more pollution and more plastic body parts)? Andreas tells us he’s heading out to Newport Beach to work with a former football teammate at UVA coaching lacrosse to kids ages 7 and up. O.K., so better weather and working with kids—we guess that seems worthwhile, but what about us?  Gaynor tells us not to worry—Kiki owner Jeannie Brown has found a replacement to continue serving lunch out of the sleek Fifth Street SE alley space.

Got some restaurant scoop? Send tips to restaurantarama@c-ville.com or call 817-2749, Ext. 48.

‘Tis the season for food-centered holiday rituals, most of which involve gorging on gravy-flooded, carb-infested, stick-to-your ribs, I-don’t-have-to-worry about-showing-off-my-thighs-for-another-eight-months kind of food. ‘Tis truly a wonderful, guilt-free cultural phenomenon that not even an episode of "The Biggest Loser" could impede. And for many, all of this gluttonous seasonal eating goes oh so well with another favorite seasonal pastime: football viewing. But forget about sitting on your own couch and scarfing down leftovers or store-bought tortilla chips with Cheez Whiz while you scream at the TV in solitude—there are plenty of places where you can tune in and get overfed and over-hydrated along with a room full of fellow fans. So, in honor of the season of pigskin and pigging out, here’s just a sampling of places to take in a game, whether you’re looking for cheap brews and fried fare or more gourmet goodies and imports. O.K., now before all of you hyper-competitive sports types who are just as passionate about your favorite beer lists as you are about your favorite teams get all up in our grill and start trash talking us about this, please note that this is not an exhaustive list of sports-viewing venues. And it’s not a list of the "best" places to eat and see a game per se. It’s just a sampler, people, a sampler. So just back off, or Restaurantarama will have to, er, give you a smackdown or, uh, open a can of whupass on your ass. Yeah.

At Wild Wing Café, with its 32 TVs, plus a 20′ big screen, watching sports is a sport unto itself. Oh, and they have good food, too.

Sports bars, duh

First off, we have the honest-to-goodness places that don’t try and be about anything other than trans fats, TVs and touchdowns. Wild Wing Café boasts 32 TVs, a 20′ big screen and a Bucket O’Beer on the drink menu—not as classy as, say, those beer helmets with the straws, but close. Rivals Sports Bar & Grill, which at our last count had 16 plasmas, is decked out in so much UVA and Virginia Tech paraphernalia that you’ll feel like you’re actually at the game. More importantly, they have fried crab balls.

Punts and pints

For the spectator with more, um, exotic tastes, there is the Irish pub, McGrady’s. Get yourself some fish and chips and a pint of Guinness and you just might get the luck o’ the Irish on your side’s side. Oh, and they have seriously cheap domestic pitchers if you’re not into the whole "ethnic" thing.

Snaps and ‘shrooms 

For the folks who like options, there is Mellow Mushroom, which has 39 beers—from Bud Light to Brooklyn Black Chocolate stout—on tap, plus a gazillion different pizza toppings and a whole gigantic menu page of different hoagies. It will, like, blow your mind, dude.

Hikes and hipsters

For those of you who like a bit more "scene" with your sports and have more refined tastes, there is three, a kitchen and lounge. They serve their hot dogs with a knife and fork and their nachos with chipotle crèma. And, in addition to beer, they have lots of funky martinis and house-concocted cocktails for when you’re just too bloated for another brewski halfway through the third quarter.

Got some restaurant scoop? Send tips to restaurantarama@c-ville.com or call 817-2749, Ext. 48.

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. 

Got some restaurant scoop? Send tips to restaurantarama@c-ville.com or call 817-2749, Ext. 48.

"Veal stock, plum wine and a watermelon."  Those were the only ingredients Blue Light Grill‘s new executive chef, Jeff Achterhoff, says he requested in advance for his cooking interview. Cooking interview? you ask. Yep, that’s how big-time chefs get hired—they have to show up and cook on demand for the powers that be. Kinda makes those "behavioral" corporate-type interviews seem pretty lame now, doesn’t it? And not surprisingly, in those, ahem, pressure-cooker situations, interviewing chefs typically request a long list of favorite stocks, sauces, spices and such so they can show off their slam-dunk dishes. But not Achterhoff. When he showed up in town a few weeks ago seeking the spot left open by Blue Light’s departing head chef, Reed Anderson, this culinary maverick figured he’d use whatever the Blue Light kitchen already had on hand and make up his dishes on the spot—a move that he suspects garnered him quick respect from Blue Light’s management and the head honchos at Coran Capshaw’s Central Restaurant Group. He doesn’t even remember what he cooked up, but, apparently, it was yummy because Achterhoff got the job. He started his Blue Light tenure at the end of September.

Get smart: Jeff Achterhoff, Blue Light Grill’s new executive chef, beefed up his cooking knowledge down South, even indulging in some culinary espionage: working in the kitchen of one restaurant while waiting tables in others to spy on their operations.

Just where does such calm and confidence come from? We suspect it may come from Actherhoff being self-taught. The 2000 Engineering graduate from Clemson says he doesn’t have any of the baggage and pretension that culinary school types sometimes have. No, Actherhoff has the cooking chops that come from, shall we say, trial by cooking fire, and he has the kitchen passion that comes from deciding six months after graduation that he’d rather start at the bottom in a new career than stick with a cushy but unsatisfying corporate engineering job.

Achterhoff says he caught the cooking bug growing up around his uncle’s casual American-style restaurant in Michigan, and then he started really honing his skills and his eclectic culinary style over the last seven years, preparing everything from low-country and soul food to formal French and sushi in various restaurants in Charleston, Asheville, Savannah and most recently in Greenville, where he worked as executive sous-chef at the massive, 11-different-dining-spots-adorned Cliff’s Communities and then as executive chef at global fusion-fashioned Azia restaurant.

He even dabbled in culinary espionage doing a stint as a "rogue sous-chef" in Charleston, he says. That means he worked in the kitchen of one Charleston restaurant while waiting tables in others to spy on their operations and steal their recipes.  Sheesh!  And we thought the Charlottesville dining scene was hardcore.

And all of that scrappy, hard work has developed Achterhoff into a well-rounded chef who likes experimenting with the fusion of high and low cuisine—"taking shrimp and grits and spinning it into something new," he says. Something like the Deconstructed Salmon BLT he’s rolled out at Blue Light—Mango BBQ salmon, housemade Virginia ham, bok choy and purple potatoes tossed with truffle oil, balsamic vinegar and shaved asiago. We call that comfort food with an attitude.

New frontier

Unless you’ve been living under a rock or busying yourself with Lewis and Clark statue sit-ins, you know that Pantops Mountain is the new, new frontier—in the dining world anyway. In just the last few months, both Christian’s Pizza and Brix have opened Pantops outposts, joining Pantops pioneer Sticks. Tip Top Restaurant, the favored Pantops lunch spot, is just days away from unveiling an addition that more than doubles its seating. And now Mexican mainstay Guadalajara is getting ready to open up its fourth location in Pantops, right there on Richmond Road/Route 250 East. Gilbert Lopez, owner of the Guad empire, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, says he hopes the Pantops outpost will be open by mid-January.

Got some restaurant scoop? Send tips to restaurantarama@c-ville.com or call 817-2749, Ext. 48.

For someone with French culinary school chops and experience running and owning restaurants all over the world—from Cape Town to Montreal and California to Hawaii—Hassan Kaisoum pretty much created a recipe for disaster at his Aroma’s Café & Catering in the Fontaine Research Park. Here were his ingredients for cooking up a Moroccan/Mediterranean dining den in Charlottesville: fluorescent-lighted cafeteria space in a Virginia Department of Forestry office building occupied by folks fascinated with Virginia flora. Not your typical ethnic food scene.

Two to get ready: Hassan Kaisoum (right) built up the clientele in the old Aroma’s Café space, and Ted Nelson designed the new space in the Barracks Road Shopping Center. The combined result is a recipe for success.

"People said, ‘I’ll give you three months,’" Kaisoum says with a laugh.

But that was eight years ago. Apparently, Kaisoum is like one of those misunderstood culinary genius types—you know, the kind whose crazy combinations of, like, garlic and ice cream make no sense until you bite into their completed dishes and discover divinity. You see, Aroma’s didn’t just last—it soared. It soared right into the hearts of almost every person stuck in that drab Fontaine Research Park and then by word-of-mouth (Aroma’s has practically no signage) into the hearts of their friends and colleagues and their friends and colleagues’ friends and colleagues until Kaisoum became a household name for anyone with a taste for Habiba sauce.

But finally, finally, Kaisoum is moving his Aroma’s Cafe to a location with a bit more foot traffic—Barracks Road Shopping Center—and has just about the best recipe for success any restaurateur can hope for: a loyal, cultish following already firmly established and access to a whole new market. Plus—and here’s the best part, in the humble opinion of yours truly, who finds cafeteria spaces reminiscent of wart-infested lunch ladies and soggy tater tots—Kaisoum will be getting "a restaurant space that can match his energy," says Kaisoum’s designer, Ted Nelson of Design Build Office.

Nelson says Aroma’s new casual, bistro setup in the former Alltel location will have an open kitchen to highlight the best parts of the original Aroma’s—the food and Kaisoum himself—and an interior design that matches the rich Moroccan flare of them both. But no worries about walking into one of those over-the-top, Disneyland versions of Marrakech that you sometimes find at Moroccan restaurants. Nelson assures us that the new Aroma’s will have clean and simple lines and a design that reflects the more streamlined aesthetics of the Saharan Desert and the Mediterranean Sea.  Aah. All visions of lunch ladies have been banished.

And even more good news: Whereas the old Aroma’s was open only for lunch Monday through Friday, Kaisoum tells us the new café will be open 11am-9pm, seven days a week. No more having to wait the entire weekend to get your next fix of the little pieces of heaven disguised as Kaisoum’s Baklava or his Cashew Fingers with Honey, which Nelson aptly likens to the addictive qualities of crack.

Kaisoum says that he’ll close down the old Aroma’s location at the end of December and hopes to open the new Barracks Road location around January 1.

Quick bites

Apparently, it’s bombs away for Atomic Burrito. As of press time, a representative for Atomic’s owners tells us that while discussions are ongoing, no final deal has been inked for the tiny taqueria’s Second Street alley space (which previously brought us smoothie and juice bar Liquid). Current staff, however, tell us that Atomic will close its doors on October 31.

Speaking of juice bars, Sublime All-Natural Food & Juice Bar on Elliewood Avenue will have opened by the time you read this. If you’re a natural food novice, we suggest you sample yourself a wheat grass shot at Sublime’s grand opening celebration this weekend.

Got some restaurant scoop? Send tips to restaurantarama@c-ville.com or call 817-2749, Ext. 48.

As both the source and the sounding board for all things food in this town, Restaurantarama works tirelessly on your behalf to decipher inside scoop from mere scuttlebutt. Typically, we save you, the reader, from the untruths and exaggerations that little birds whisper to us, but this week, we thought we’d let you in on just two of the recent rumors we quashed in our research. And we’d like to speak to some of those gossip mongers directly.  

Shelly Gordon, owner of The Tavern, says that his classic Charlottesville eatery isn’t going anywhere, despite whispers to the contrary—and he has a new four-and-a-half-year lease to prove it.

Our first message is to all you Chicken Littles out there running around town yelling, "The Tavern is closing! The Tavern is closing!" You are, in a word, misinformed. We checked in with Tavern owner Shelly Gordon and discovered that the place "where students, tourists and townpeople meet" is not only not closing, it’s not going anywhere for at least the next few years. Gordon tells us he just renewed the lease on the building for another four and a half years and would have extended it for even longer if the landlord would have let him.

Gordon and his manager Margaret Podoba were just as perplexed as we by the rumors. They say they’ve been fielding calls from loyal customers panicking over a posting they’d seen "on a Myspace page or something," says Gordon. Podoba wondered if the gossipers could have the 26-year-old Meadowbrook Shopping Center hot spot for hash browns confused with a different closing Tavern. Oh no! Could it be the Court Square Tavern?  Restaurantarama had to admit that might make a little sense. The place just reopened a few months ago after a devastating kitchen fire in March 2006. Could it have been a failed recovery? We called owner Bill Curtis to find out, but when our inquiry was met with a hearty laugh, we knew the answer was no. No!  Court Square definitely is still on tap.

Curtis, who also owns Tastings, does admit the food business is tough in this town. "There are too many damn restaurants," he says. And he acknowledges that he "doesn’t sleep much" and is "the dullest guy in the world" because of it. But he says, "Like they say in Apocalypse Now, ‘You must make a friend of horror.’" Well said, Mr. Curtis. Well said. So chill out Chicken Littles, the Tavern, the other Tavern and the sky are firmly in place. 

Our second message is to all you doomsayers out there speculating that local institution Big Jim’s Barbeque on Angus Road is closing in light of the sad passing of owner Patricia "Mrs. Big Jim" Hope on September 28: Shame on you. Instead of making baseless predictions about the future of the most well-known barbeque place in town, perhaps you should use this time—whatever your barbeque biases or favorite pit might be—to reflect on the enormous impact the Big J has had on barbeque eating in this town (and UVA catering!) since opening its doors in 1981. Oh, and for your information, manager Tom Frederick tells us that while Big Jim’s is not booking any catering jobs at the moment, "the restaurant is continuing as is."

Eating good

O.K., enough of the scolding. Here’s the part where we like to praise local foodies who are feeding our souls, not just our stomachs. This time it’s Hamiltons’ at First & Main, which is hosting a Harvest Dinner on November 18 to benefit Meals on Wheels. All proceeds from the $100-a-plate, six-course dinner will go to the organization that delivers hot, nutritious meals to local homebound residents. Why not eat some delicious Hamiltons’ fare so someone else can just eat? Call 293-4364 for tickets.

Got some restaurant scoop? Send tips to restaurantarama@c-ville.com or call 817-2749, Ext. 48.