Chef Mike Ledesma (Photo by Jess Aicholtz)
Food-wise, the joy had left the Joy Garden (2918 W. Broad St.) many years ago. That didn’t mean the space, not to mention the neon sign out front, wasn’t an integral part of the fabric of Richmond. When the 60-year-old Chinese restaurant gave way to the inevitable last year, the RVADine community was all atwitter with speculation as to who would snatch up the landmark property.
Well, we now have that answer: Chef Mike Ledesma has signed a lease on the space. The current executive chef at Kabana Rooftop (700 E. Main St.) and former corporate executive chef for the Richmond Restaurant Group (The Hard Shell, Pearl Raw Bar, East Coast Provisions, The Daily Kitchen & Bar, among others) will be striking out on his own with this venture, leveraging his Hawaiian and Filipino upbringing to create a Pacific Rim-themed menu.
The name? Well, that is still in the hands of the lawyers as they vet the choices for Chef Ledesma. The space, once overhauled, will be “rustic, industrial, Asian,” Ledesma says. Think reclaimed woods alongside high-tech materials and gadgets. Yes, that means there will be charging ports and Wi-Fi. With a little luck, Ledesma even hopes to get the neon sign lit up again.
Ledesma envisions the restaurant as someplace where you can come and hang out all day — “open as many hours as possible.” He’s even spending some time over in Charlottesville working with a couple of bakers to hone his bread-making skills so you can start your day there with something fresh from the oven.
No firm timeline on the opening, sometime in 2018, but in the interim you’ll be able to experience the menu development through a series of yet-to-be-announced pop-ups in Scott’s Addition and throughout the city.
