Yet another Charlottesville business has been shuttered by the coronavirus. Last week, the owners of downtown Italian restaurant and music venue Fellini’s announced that December 19 would be the spot’s final day. “We literally tried EVERYTHING,” reads a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page. The owners report that they asked the city to use the sidewalks for outdoor dining, but were not allowed to do so.
Turnover continues
The list of high-profile departures from Charlottesville this year just keeps getting longer. After six years as CEO of Jaunt, Brad Sheffield resigned last week, wanting to take the “next steps” in his career, reports The Daily Progress. Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney is also eyeing a new job—last week, she was selected as one of seven finalists for police chief of Dallas. The new chief is expected to be selected by January 1.
Cut the check
For months, thousands of Virginians have been waiting to receive their badly needed unemployment benefits. After the Legal Aid Justice Center, Virginia Poverty Law Center, and other legal partners threatened the Virginia Employment Commission with a class action lawsuit last month, nearly 80,000 people are now receiving payments while their claims continue to be reviewed.
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Quote of the week
“With this remarkable medical achievement, we are beginning
to see the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.”
—Governor Ralph Northam, as vaccine distribution begins
Chris (pictured) and Sarah Humphrey bought Fellini’s #9 from longtime owner Jacie Dunkel two months ago. The couple says they’ll keep beloved menu staples, while adding special dishes, a new cocktail list and more. Photo by Eze Amos
As a kid, Chris Humphrey spent a lot of time at his grandmother’s home on Belmont Avenue. The small house was the hub for the entire family—there was never fewer than 15 people there at a time, Humphrey remembers—and his grandmother was always cooking for everyone: beef stew, onion gravy, mac ’n’ cheese.
Humphrey, who had severe asthma and couldn’t play football in the yard with his cousins, passed much of that time at his grandmother’s side, in the kitchen, watching cooking shows on PBS and picking vegetables from the garden.
Humphrey’s grandmother would pickle and can what she didn’t use right away and stow the jars of bread-and-butter pickles and other delights in the hallway closet.
After cooking in restaurants all over town, including Bizou, Bang!, Maya and the now-shuttered Higher Grounds, Metropolitan and Station, and serving as head chef at Rapture for five and a half years, Humphrey has his own restaurant. He and his wife, Sarah, have bought Fellini’s #9 from longtime owner Jacie Dunkle.
“There’s something about it that’s always drawn me to it,” Humphrey says of Fellini’s. “I like the dining room, and I like what Jacie has done [with it]. She’s built a Charlottesville icon of sorts.”
Dunkle, who owned and ran Fellini’s for years before selling it to Justin Butler and Chad and Melissa Ragland in June 2015, bought the restaurant back in August 2016 with the intention of selling it again later—Dunkle also owns Tin Whistle and The Salad Maker, and says she didn’t want to run three restaurants. Humphrey had cooked at Fellini’s in the past, and Dunkle asked him to come back on board last August. When the Humphreys expressed interest in buying the place, Dunkle says she was “thrilled.”
“I knew [Chris] had the experience to know what he was up against, and Sarah, too, has been in the industry for a long time and [knows] about [the] front of the house,” Dunkle says. “I know they will keep Fellini’s on its successful track and I want to make sure it works for them, and for the community. Fellini’s has a long tradition in Charlottesville and it needs to continue.”
“Jacie wanted to hand it over to someone who cared about it, and who would keep it alive for her. Hopefully we can pull it off,” says Humphrey, who promises that most Fellini’s menu staples—like the bolognese, spaghetti and calamari dishes—will remain. Other dishes will change frequently, based on what’s available from local farms and from Seafood @ West Main. There’s a new cocktail list, and he’s working with a few wine distributors on regular wine dinners. He’s also toying with the idea of having a pop-up speakeasy in the upstairs space that held a speakeasy a few years ago. “It’s a cool room up there,” Humphrey says of the secretive spot that, much like his grandmother’s hallway closet, might hold a plethora of delights. “I think that could be fun.”
Robert Edward Johnson Sr. Photo by Elli Williams
Kitchen king
As reported in the obituary pages of The Daily Progress, longtime Aberdeen Barn chef Robert Edward Johnson Sr. died on Tuesday, October 3, after a long illness. He was 80 years old. In the early 1960s, Johnson was chef at the Gaslight on West Main Street, and in 1965 he began cooking what many regarded to be the best steaks in the Charlottesville area at the Aberdeen Barn. Johnson served as chef at the Aberdeen Barn for 50 years, until illness kept him out of the kitchen and forced him into retirement in 2015—at that point, he’d been the restaurant’s only chef.
Robert Edward Johnson Sr. served as Aberdeen Barn’s chef for 50 years before retiring in 2015.
Jeff Miller combines skillful guitar picking with creative technology at Fellini’s on Thursday. Publicity photo
Guitarist Jeff Miller is loopy in the best way. His new release is titled Loops, he created a YouTube series “Loop of the Week,” and he operates as a one-man band with the help of a looping pedal that brings together his fingerpicking guitar style, astute vocals and creative rhythm, layering it into a live performance. The new album features two tracks with Phil Keaggy, a pioneer in the genre…to keep you in the loop.
Thursday, March 30. No cover, 10pm. Fellini’s, 200 W. Market St. 979-4279.
Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar executive chef Reggie Calhoun and Miso Sweet Ramen + Donut Shop executive chef Frank Paris III will each cook four courses—the common ingredient being bacon—for Tin Whistle Irish Pub diners, who will vote for their favorite chef. Photo by CVille Photo & Video
Fans of bacon and friendly competition should head to the Tin Whistle Irish Pub at 609 E. Market St. on Monday night for a chef showdown. Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar executive chef Reggie Calhoun and Miso Sweet Ramen + Donut Shop executive chef Frank Paris III will each cook four courses—the common ingredient being bacon—for diners, who will chow down before voting for their favorite chef. Calhoun, who toppled Tastings chef Michael Berry in the most recent showdown, is back to defend his title. The chef showdown was started by Berry, Tin Whistle owner Jacie Dunkle and Fellini’s chef Chris Humphrey. “We all three thought this was a cool concept for this town,” says Dunkle.
Calhoun and Paris will cook for two seatings—at 5:30 and 7:30pm—and it’s $55 for eight courses; or $65 for eight courses plus wine pairings. Diners can call the Tin Whistle at 202-8387 to reserve their spot.
Rally for Allie
On March 27, from 6-8 pm, Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards is hosting the Rally for Allie—a food and wine fundraiser for Allie Redshaw, a chef who recently lost her hand in a work accident. Guests will enjoy samples from top area chefs and producers, as well as Pippin Hill wines. There will also be a silent auction featuring unique experiences and donations from local vendors. Online bidding for the auction is already underway for items such as a James Beard dinner—a nine-course meal for 10 people prepared by all three Charlottesville-area chefs who have been named James Beard semi-finalists for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic: Ian Boden, Melissa Close-Hart and Angelo Vangelopoulos. All proceeds from the fundraiser and auction go directly to Redshaw’s recovery fund. Tickets are $50, available at eventbrite.com/e/rally-for-allie-tickets-32847544891. To view the auction items and place your bids, visit charlottesville29.com.—C. Simon Davidson
Open for business
Uncle Maddio’s Pizza opened March 17 at The Shops at Stonefield. Diners can create their own pizza from three crusts, 48 toppings and seven sauces, and the pies are ready to eat in under eight minutes. Maddio’s signature pizzas, such as the Steak & Blue, are available as well.
Shane Mitchell. Publicity photo
Six questions for Shane Mitchell
Shane Mitchell, author of Far Afield: Rare Food Encounters from Around the World, is a contributing editor for Saveur. Her writing has appeared in Serious Eats and Bon Appétit, and she was a 2016 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award finalist. But she doesn’t characterize herself as a food writer. “My work focuses on culture. But food is often the gateway in,” says Mitchell. “Almost everyone lights up and opens the door when I ask, ‘What’s for dinner?’” Mitchell is one of the featured food writers who will be reading from and talking about their work at this year’s Virginia Festival of the Book.
C-VILLE Weekly:What is your favorite food?
SM:Probably rice. Goes with almost everything. It appears on the table in all the regions where I travel most.
Least favorite food?
Oatmeal and okra. It’s a texture thing.
What was the first thing you wrote about food?
An ode to wild dandelion greens for Saveur magazine.
What’s the most recent thing you wrote about food?
Apart from Far Afield? Sandwiches called pani ca’ meusa [literally “bread with spleen”], a famous street snack in Palermo, Sicily. And an essay for The Sugarfiles, a Saveur project, about a caste of [silver]smiths who hammer tissue-thin edible silver and gold “vark” to cover traditional sweets in Jaipur.
If you could have any meal, anywhere, where would you go, and what would you eat there?
A modest izakaya [a Japanese gastropub] under the train tracks in Tokyo where the owner grills yakitori chicken wings over charcoal. He’s been doing it for 30 years and will never be rich or famous but has a loyal fan base.
What’s the story you can’t get out of your head/heart?
Sharing cups of tea with Sudanese refugees in a camp called The Jungle on the European migrant route.
Catch Mitchell this week at three panels, all of which are free and open to the public:
Adventures in Eating: Navigating the World for the Perfect Meal
With Jeffrey Greene, author of In Pursuit of Wild Edibles; Thursday, March 23, 10am; Barnes & Noble, Barracks Road Shopping Center
Cooking demos
With Sheri Castle, author of Rhubarb; and Ronni Lundy, author of Victuals
Thursday, March 23, noon; The Charlottesville Cooking School, 2041 Barracks Rd.
Food Traditions and Women Chefs
With Ashley Christensen, author of Poole’s, and Ronni Lundy
Thursday, March 23, 4pm; Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, 233 Fourth St. NW
