Leah Branch of The Roosevelt (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
The ‘Breath of Fresh Air’
Leah Branch, The Roosevelt
Taking the helm at a restaurant with an established identity, once led by a James Beard Award-nominated chef, is no small feat, particularly for someone relatively new to the local dining scene. But at The Roosevelt, Executive Chef Leah Branch has made a flawless transition.
“It will be one year on Feb. 17,” says Branch, reflecting on her work anniversary at the Church Hill hideaway.
In that time, Branch has embedded herself into the culinary fabric of Richmond. Joining the crew at a time when guests were beginning to dine out again on a regular basis, yearning to be stimulated and satiated, while peers looked on with excitement about the arrival of fresh blood on the scene, Branch delivered.
“I think a lot of times we get really lucky that people say yes to a lot of what we’re interested in playing with; it’s been really great,” she says.
But that “Yes, chef” response isn’t just coming from diners, it’s also echoed by her colleagues and The Roosevelt’s owners, Mark Herndon and Kendra Feather.
“It has been such a breath of fresh air for me in that way,” Branch says. “It’s been really easy to say, ‘Hey, this is important to me,’ and on their end, they say, ‘Hey, this is important to us,’ and really support each other. I think it’s taught me that you really can just have a positive, peaceful, collaborative workspace in the kitchen, and I’ve been in some spaces before where I didn’t know if that was possible.”
Last year, The Roosevelt team served crawfish rolls at Folk Feast, participated in Village Garden’s Chile Chill Out and Tomato Jubilee, joined Leni Sorensen at Indigo House for a dinner spanning three centuries of African American cuisine, showcased a revived Red-N-Sweet heirloom watermelon, and got diners hooked on a lemony, buttery gator piccata.
Branch says her 2023 vision board includes continuing to grow as a chef, while also deepening her Richmond roots and making an impact beyond the kitchen. “I just want to keep learning and keep getting better,” she says. “I would love to do something for Juneteenth and kind of do more things to give back to the community. I think that’s where we could really improve on — what can we do to celebrate food and have fun with it, but also give back to initiatives we support?”
Daniel Harthausen plans to debut a Young Mother brick-and-mortar this year. (Photo by Christopher "Puma" Smith)
The Big Winner
Daniel Harthausen, Young Mother
In 2022 we declared the Japanese- and Korean-influenced Young Mother pop-up, led by chef Daniel Harthausen, one of the hottest dining tickets in the city. In recent months, that claim has been solidified by a $300,000 check.
After being approached by the producers of the HBO Max series “The Big Brunch,” Harthausen snagged a spot on the inaugural season of the feel-good culinary series — and won.
The night before the filming of the final episode, Harthausen didn’t sleep. Earlier that day, the judges had hinted that the finalists might be expected to present business plans for their future concepts. He didn’t take the hint lightly. In a hotel room in Los Angeles, he reflected on what he wanted from Young Mother.
“I stayed up the whole night writing, rewriting, editing and practicing in the mirror,” he shares. “They said a big part of me winning was [that] I was the most prepared for that part of the challenge.”
How would he develop his concept from an intimate, once-a-month dining experience to an everyday affair? Who did he want on his team to help him establish a neighborhood restaurant with an elevated ethos and environment? What moments and experiences motivated him to express himself through cooking in the first place?
“[A] big part of my overarching mission that I want to instill, not only in myself, but the environment I’m curating, the people I’m bringing together to work, and the space and how it’s laid out itself, is always embodying this idea of trust,” Harthausen says. “I want people to be able to have this ability to come back and know when they’re coming to my restaurant, they’re going to get a good meal and good service.”
With whispers of a restaurant reveal sometime this year, Harthausen hopes to secure a spot in Church Hill, Manchester or North Side. He envisions a 40-seat dining room, a menu of a dozen staple dishes and a space that doubles as a pop-up incubator.
While he continues figuring it out, Harthausen moves forward with a calm and confident demeanor, the aura of an old soul and seasoned chef.
“In this process of trying to open this restaurant after so much anticipation, I find a lot of peace, actually, in understanding the idea that a lot of people are excited and anticipating what I want to make, and it makes me work harder because I want to make sure it’s something I can deliver on. I always tell myself, these are the moments,” Harthausen says. “When it gets really hard, I’ll say that over and over in my head because it’s true, those are the moments where you grow.”
(From left) Qui Nguyen and Taylor Scott of RVA Community Fridges (Photo by Abigail Grey Johnston)
The Change-makers
Taylor Scott and Qui Nguyen, RVA Community Fridges
Throughout the region, brightly colored fridges can be found outside local businesses. Accessible 24/7, they are stocked with pantry items and free food, everything from eggs and vegetables to prepared meals.
Introduced in 2021 by New Orleans native Taylor Scott, RVA Community Fridges has evolved from an effort to address food insecurity and deepen a connection with the city into a prospering mutual aid group with a brick-and-mortar space the horizon.
Based on the principle “take what you need, give what you can,” the venture is volunteer-run and donation-based.
Refrigerators are typically gifted, and then the team works to identify businesses that will host the appliances and provide an easily accessible power source. The fridges require a steady flow of groceries and regular maintenance. The notion that the concept is not only integral to the community, but thrives from the involvement of its members, showcases the magic of mutual aid. “We’re set on everyone getting involved; the fridge is for the community by the community,” Scott says.
After debuting the inaugural community fridge, also the first in the state, on Venable Street two years ago, there are now 10 in the Richmond area. Locations range from a beauty salon in South Chesterfield to Ms. Girlee’s Kitchen in Fulton Hill, with more on the way.
“We’re still trying to figure out the needs of the community, those are always changing, but we definitely have a better grasp on the nuts and bolts of stuff and the logistics,” says RVA Community Fridges’ Qui Nguyen. “We’ve also gotten a lot better at how we inform the community.”
Tapping into an audience via social media, the duo have used the platform to humanize the group and reach a wider audience. Nguyen says their Instagram reels have even gone viral and people across the globe have contacted them wanting to replicate their efforts.
In early 2023, RVA Community Fridges secured a space in North Side that they plan to share with the Richmond chapter of Foods Not Bombs, a longtime vegan food justice collective.
Food Not Bombs will primarily use the kitchen in the forthcoming space — once a grocery store, coincidentally — and RVA Community Fridges aims to hold meetings there. They also hope to grow their team and host meal prep and cooking sessions.
“Not only can we interact with the community, but we’re sharing it with other community groups who have had our backs from the beginning and doing similar, if not the same, work as we are,” Nguyen says. “We’re looking forward to having this collaborative space and dreaming big and helping hold up each other in supporting these goals.”
Emmanuel “Manny” Baiden in front of Penny’s Wine Shop at 405 Brook Road (Photo by Abigail Grey Johnston)
The Shiny Addition
Emmanuel Baiden, Penny’s Wine Shop
Emmanuel “Manny” Baiden is known to travel frequently and look stylish while doing so. Baiden is a native of Ghana and the private chef behind the venture Manny Eats, and his Instagram reveals a culinary curiosity, infatuation with edible exploration and an eye for fashion. His trips across the country and abroad serve as inspiration, whether he’s returning to Ghana to visit family and reconnect with his roots or visiting New York and L.A. wine bars for R&D for his latest project, Penny’s Wine Shop, set to open in early February.
Penny’s is the vision of owners and oenophiles Lance Lemon and Kristen Gardner, who operate the wine delivery service RichWine. Located at 405 Brook Road in the former Stoplight Gelato space in Jackson Ward, Penny’s also honors the history of the neighborhood. The name refers to St. Luke’s Penny Savings Bank, which opened a few blocks away in 1903 and was founded by Richmond icon Maggie L. Walker.
“With my West African background, I want to put a world view on things. I’m a big traveler,” Baiden says. “Last year, I specifically traveled to eat at certain places that I think would follow the vision we want at Penny’s.”
Baiden first learned to cook from his mother, incorporating West African techniques that were passed down through the generations. After immigrating to the U.S., he attended James Madison University, graduating with a degree in hospitality management before landing in Richmond four years ago.
While he may be best known for his private dinners — of which he did almost 60 last year — or sellout lobster roll pop-ups and the African-inspired “Motherland” series, the chef is looking forward to expanding his reach at the wine and tapas bar.
Intended as a pre- or post-dinner stop, Penny’s will offer small plates and tapas-style bites, with dishes intended for pairing with organic or biodynamic wines. Cheese and charcuterie will be rotating staples, while guests can also expect selections including ricotta with a beet-ginger relish, a warm apple-poblano butter oyster, braised short ribs with sweet potato grits and baked fish.
“The idea is that people can come in and order the whole menu to share, and if it’s a small group, they can order four to five items and have a substantial meal,” Baiden says. “It’s a really cozy space and I don’t want people to see a small space, and think we’re limited. We see a lot of cool things in Richmond, but what else can we do differently? We want to be able to push the boundaries a little bit.”
