The new restaurant will open in Stony Point Village shopping center, which is anchored by Trader Joe's. (Photo by Mike Platania)
Bon Air will be opening a new restaurant with the help of a veteran local restaurant group.
Big Kitchen Hospitality is preparing to open The Granite Grill & Bar at 3088 Stony Point Parkway in Stony Point Village shopping center, which is anchored by Trader Joe's.
Granite is a new concept from Big Kitchen, which also owns and operates three Tazza Kitchen restaurants in the area. Conejo in the West End.
John and Susan Davenport
John Davenport, who owns the restaurant group with his wife, Susan, and business partner Jeff Grant, said the three have lived in the Bon Air area for years and had been thinking about opening a restaurant there since last year.
He said The Granite will be similar in price range and style to the other concepts, but the menu will differ from Conejo's focus on Mexican food and Tadza's emphasis on wood-fired pizza.
“There are three Taza Kitchens in Richmond that are doing well, but it would be hard to find a fourth without too many locations in one city. Conejo is very popular and we consider it a one-of-a-kind restaurant,” John Davenport said. “When we found out this (Bon Air) space was available, we knew the classic American grill and bar concept we had in mind would be a perfect fit for the area.”
Granite's menu is still being planned, but John Davenport said it will offer smashburgers, grilled seafood dishes and a variety of steaks. There will also be a full bar and drink menu created by Big Kitchen beverage director Lauren Spain.
Big Kitchen is leasing a 5,300-square-foot space that has been vacant for years, formerly occupied by Nuevo Mexico, which recently opened. Fan locationBetween the dining room, bar, patio and private dining rooms, The Granite will have seating for more than 200 people, and John Davenport said The Granite plans to be open for dinner seven days a week and for lunch Wednesday through Sunday.
The space once housed a Mexican restaurant and now sits vacant. (Courtesy of Big Kitchen Hospitality)
The group has hired local architecture firm Johannas Design Group and interior designer Helen Reid Design to build the restaurant, and John Davenport said the team will begin the process of selecting a general contractor next month, with the goal of opening in February or March 2025.
He said the restaurant is named after the granite quarries that drove industry and development in the Bon Air area during the 19th and 20th centuries.
“The area was built on granite quarries that were used for the cobblestones of Shockoe Slip and some of the foundations of the original buildings in Richmond,” he says. “The granite is indigenous to the area. A friend suggested the name and everyone just stuck with it.”
Granite is the latest new tenant at Stony Point Village Shopping Center since South Carolina-based Ziff Real Estate Partners. Bought for $10 million In 2019, it received a big boost in 2020. Trader Joe's Signs It opened in a strip center and later became a Planet Fitness and Shop 5807 They've arrived. Of the 114,000-square-foot center, only 5,200 square feet of space is available. Jim Ashby of Thalhimer is handling leasing for the center.
