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Dinner Party owner Annie Barrow
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Dinner Party is a wine and provisions shop located at 3402 W. Cary St. in Carytown.
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A shelf stocked with pantry goods at Dinner Party
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Dinner Party opens Nov. 16
For many who enter the beverage world, there’s that a-ha moment: an eye-opening sip that sparks the senses and leads one down a new path. For former chef Annie Barrow, it was a taste of sherry during a weekly tasting at the restaurant where she worked.
“I had never been exposed to sherry at that point in my life, and I remember my jaw dropped,” Barrow says. “I was like, ‘Tell me more.’”
After, she began crashing the front-of-house sessions at the restaurant, embarking on a journey that would one day bring her to Carytown. On Nov. 16, Barrow will debut Dinner Party, a wine and provisions shop at 3402 W. Cary St. Bright and bold and bedecked with disco balls and curvy pops of pink and red, the store is a vibe.
Wicker baskets on the shop’s walls are stuffed with bags of potato chips and chocolate chip cookies, a massive back wall showcases bottles, big windows facing Cary Street are accented with designs of martini skewers and utensils, and the concept’s motto is painted in bubbly letters: “All your dinner party essentials in one place.”
Barrow is used to curating a feel and paying close attention to detail. She previously worked in New York City for James Beard Award-nominated chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette at Toro, and Gabrielle Hamilton at Prune.
A Williamsburg native, she originally moved to Richmond to attend VCU. The history buff later landed in Boston and got her first industry stint, working aboard a Vietnamese food truck.
“That kind of, like, gave me the itch for working in kitchens,” she says. “I was in my 20s, and it was exciting and invigorating, and the scene was sort of just taking off. Once I started working in kitchens, and working on the line, I realized I’m very good at multitasking and when it’s good, it’s like a ballet, and I loved the energy of it. I had the opportunity to work for some great chefs who were incredible mentors.”
While the sherry piqued her interest, and cheffing had her heart, it was a part-time gig turned managerial role at a wine shop in New York’s East Village that sealed her fate. Shortly after starting there, a manager left, and Barrow’s enthusiasm led to a quick promotion.
"[The owner] always tried to hire people that were more green, that wanted to learn,” she says. “I think that he took a chance on me, [for] which I’m fortunate. I learned a ton and got the exposure.”
The experience encouraged Barrow to develop a deeper academic understanding of wine, and she became a certified sommelier. Motherhood, however, led Barrow and her wife back to Richmond. This year, she began looking for the place to build her dream store.
“The whole time we were [in New York], the plan was always to open a wine shop,” she says. “When I really found this space, I kind of completed the concept of Dinner Party. I feel like the phrase ‘dinner party’ puts you in a good place, feeling-wise.”
That convivial get-together energy is on display in the warm persona of the shop. Wooden shelves are dotted with pantry provisions including Graza olive oil, jars of cornichons and chili crunch, and canisters of spaghetti dust, the latter an herby blend designed to zhuzh up noodles. A firm believer in the power of simple necessities, Barrow says she likes to keep her cupboard stocked with good olive oil, tinned fish and salt. In-store selections are thoughtfully curated and ones you may spot in her own pantry. “It’s stuff that I think is really delicious,” she says.
Barrow notes that the Carytown shopping district, where Dinner Party is a neighbor to Penzey’s Spices, felt like an appropriate fit. She plans eventually to host weekly wine tastings and other events. Emphasizing a nonpretentious, inclusive atmosphere, she is focusing on sourcing wines from small producers.
“In my previous shop, we were in a really neighborhood area, and our thing was kind of like, ‘Any-night-of-the-week wine,’ and that, as a consumer myself, is what I want, too, right? I want a wine that I’m opening up tonight,” she says.
Leaning more into Old World styles, but not taking a strong stance, Barrow says customers can expect foundational classics from Italy and France, such as a good burgundy, alongside natural and biodynamic offerings and everything in between. “It’ll be a mix,” she says. “It’s good wine, you know; I think that that’s more of the ethos.”
Barrow recognizes the wide-ranging potential of every festive occasion and aims to reflect that in the store’s offerings. “If you want to go in and ball out, yeah, buy some like, incredible Champagne, or a really good vintage Brunello. But if you’re also just coming in because you’re running to your friend’s house and y’all have a pizza, yeah, come get some Lambrusco — everything you need for a dinner party in one place.”
Dinner Party will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
