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Botanya is located at 3314 W. Cary St.
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A rendering of the dining room
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Botanya will have about 70 seats, including patio space.
A seasoned restaurateur with projects in D.C., Raleigh and Richmond and a recent transplant from Spain have joined forces to unveil an upscale European-inspired concept in Carytown, aiming to open by the end of September or early October.
Taking over the former Jimmy John’s space at 3314 W. Cary St., Botanya, whose name gives a nod to plants and flowers, promises an upscale vision of tapas; decor punctuated with leafy plants and vivid shades of green; and an intimate, moody setting.
“When I say Spanish, I mean more from the Spain side, so European food,” Fabiana Calandriello, co-owner along with Kunal Shah, says of the restaurant’s cuisine. “We want to make something that is so special and unique, that [diners] can’t make it at home or can’t have it at any other restaurant in Richmond.”
Shah is a South Side native and one of the managing partners behind Richmond-based LX Group, whose portfolio includes Kabana, the recently revamped Juan’s Rooftop & Cantina, downtown pop-up bar Switch, and Indian eatery Nama. Calandriello says that the duo began to discuss potential business plans after she began working at Kabana.
Immigrating to the United States just seven months ago, the 22-year-old came to Richmond to be closer to family. Speaking about dining and hospitality with a clear reverence for quality and a passion derived from living in locales where food is romanticized, in addition to working in hotels and restaurants from an early age — including a family-owned operation in St. Maarten — Calandriello hopes to provide a fresh perspective.
“My father is Italian, my mother is from Venezuela, I was born there, and after I was 12 years old we went to live in Spain, in Seville,” she says. “[Shah] brings his experience, and I bring mine — he has his U.S. experience, and I have this Spain, European one, and I feel like it’s a really good combination of those two and we can make something really nice.”
After scooping up the Cary Street space within hours of it hitting the market, Calandriello says the project is moving forward quickly. While the menu and chef are yet to be solidified, she mentions European staples such as pasta and paella, draft cocktails, and a focus on simplicity.
“If you go to Spain, the most thing you will see on the restaurant menus is tapas, and when you go to eat in the restaurant, you won’t order one dish, you order a few of them, even in Italy, and you will share, and that’s what we want to do in this restaurant.”
Described as a restaurant for special occasions, Botanya will feature a Cary Street-facing patio, and Calandriello says they will begin with dinner service and may eventually introduce lunch and brunch to the mix.
“I’ve been working in [the industry] for a lot of years, but not in the states. This is my first time, so that, I can maybe say, is the scary part,” Calandriello says. “I would say it’s a challenge for me, but I'll take it.”
Botanya will be open Tuesdays through Sundays from 4 to 11 p.m.
