Family Meal Willow Lawn's Sriracha ketchup-glazed meatloaf in mushroom gravy (staff photo)
In a surprising bit of news, Family Meal in Willow Lawn is now closed after roughly one and a half years in business. As first reported by RVAHUB, the West End restaurant posted a sign to its door this week: "DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES WE WILL BE CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE." This afternoon a representative of Voltaggio relayed to Richmond magazine that the closure is permanent and was spurred by a number of factors.
The regional chain, helmed by celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio of "Top Chef" fame, serves up comfort food with a gourmet slant. The Richmond incarnation opened in spring of 2015 at 1601 Willow Lawn Drive, and was recently named one of Richmond magazine's Best New Restaurants.
"The Richmond location has, in fact, closed its doors," Cristina Krumsick, a public relations representative of Voltaggio, said via email this afternoon. "Bryan and his team are grateful to the community for their support over these past few years and are looking forward to focusing on upcoming projects, including new concepts at MGM National Harbor, City Center DC, and in Miami."
Family Meal's sibling restaurants in Frederick and Baltimore, Maryland, will remain open, as will Voltaggio's other concepts, Volt, Aggio and Range.
"There were several factors at play and it was by no means an easy decision for the team," Krumsick adds.
Correction: This piece originally stated that the Ashburn Family Meal will remain open; according to Loudoun Now, the restaurant will soon be replaced by Voltaggio's Italian concept, Aggio. This post has been updated to reflect this.