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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
This section, with its original tiling and ceiling, used to form the adjacent outdoor patio of Kelly's.
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
One of two original sea-foam-tiled bathrooms, which were formally accessed through the now-mirrored doors
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Out back, a section of original tiling shows signs of the building's prior neglect over the years
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Ren Mefford, left, and Chris Staples are part of the EAT Restaurant Partners team bringing this building back to life.
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
Boulevard Burger and Brew will offer 24 draft lines, which will not overlap with those of Fat Dragon, the sister restaurant down the block.
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
An original, slanted glass window
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Photo by Stephanie Breijo
The restaurant's new chromium-plated grill looks like something straight from the minds of the owners of Kelly's Jet System Hamburgers, the building's previous tenants.
1/4/16 Update: Boulevard Burger and Brew is now set to open on Thursday, Jan. 7, at 4 p.m.
“If the weather keeps up like this, which of course we weren’t planning on it ‘til the spring, but you never know…” Chris Staples’ voice trails off while he stares at the patio — and past it, at the expansive 25-spot parking lot — directly on Boulevard. “I think we have seating for 50 outside, and about 75 inside. I mean, a nice day almost doubles our capacity.”
It’s an uncharacteristically warm December morning, and one that would even call for one of Boulevard Burger and Brew’s milkshakes — maybe even a boozy one — were the new restaurant open yet. Fortunately, we only have to wait until Jan. 6.
The director of hospitality and marketing for EAT Restaurant Partners outlines what we can all expect from the new retro-inspired burger joint at 1300 N. Boulevard: rows of booths and counter-height tables planted near the eye-catching, candy-striped building’s spotless glass windows; a large outdoor patio; about 16 seats at a bar that’s been outfitted with USB charging stations; and 24 draft lines that will represent the area’s growing beer scene. In an impressive maneuver, the EAT team — also behind Osaka Sushi & Steak, Foo Dog, Fat Dragon, The Blue Goat, Wild Ginger, a forthcoming sushi and steakhouse spot west of Short Pump, and a yet-to-be-disclosed concept on East Grace Street downtown — declare that none of the burger restaurant’s beers will overlap with Fat Dragon’s 24 taps, which are located fewer than 350 feet away.
“Between the two concepts, we’ll have a really nice craft beer program,” Staples says. “Forty-eight lines that most certainly reflect everything that’s going on in Scott’s Addition and Richmond in general. We want to create a synergy with the sister location and try to create some momentum as a team together.”
Boulevard Burger and Brew will also hit the ground running with a selection of roughly eight alcoholic milkshakes and four sans booze. And, of course, there are the burgers: The restaurant will offer about 10 burgers, as well as a vegan burger, a chicken burger, a fish sandwich, plus hot dogs. It’ll also sling about a half-dozen starters, such as triangles of fried mac ‘n’ cheese, and about a half-dozen sides, such as fried red onion rings. Though the restaurant’s menu spotlights a few non-traditional items, you can expect some classic approaches. After all, it’d be hard not to harken back to a straightforward shake and burger joint, given the building’s history.
The location was originally built as a Sealtest Ice Cream factory, where Richmond families could walk up and purchase the company’s popular Technicolor flavors. In the late ’50s, Kelly’s Jet System Hamburgers opened there, predating even the first Richmond McDonald’s, according to Ren Mefford, EAT’s director of operations. “When you’re thinking about the early '60s, you’re thinking about the space race, which was really big, and rockets and jets and people were really into technology at the time, so their marketing thing was ‘Jet Flame System hamburgers,’” says Mefford. Boulevard Burger is a window back to that era, thanks to a lot of historic renovation and rehabbing. You’ll find the Kelly’s original terrazzo floors with brass inlays, a large, slanted glass window of a wall, and a sunny, small glass seating section that was originally a patio. The bathrooms also are original, though guests used to enter from outside. Now, you can access the seafoam green, original-tiled water closets through a hallway past the kitchen; the team also added an ADA-compliant bathroom that’s painted to match the retro tiling.
“The building was as you see it now,” says Mefford. “This was the color scheme, and these are the original tiles.”
The enormous Boulevard Burger and Brew insignia will tower over Boulevard, a literal sign of the times. The 1950s-inspired, blue, red and yellow emblem mimics the golden age of burgers and drive-ins (fitting, as the restaurant group is toying with the idea of hosting drive-in movies there). Back inside, the original kitchen — a small white-tiled room to the left of the bar — will be transformed into a small arcade, with four tabletop games that double as dining tables and small entertainment centers offering around 50 games. There are other modernizations as well, although perhaps the most jet-age of them all looks the most period.
“This is the beast, right here,” says Mefford. “This is something that nobody else has.” In the kitchen sits a large, gleaming chrome MiraClean grill. The finish isn’t your typical cast-iron flattop; it’s shining, and made from seven layers of chromium. This is where the restaurant will grill its non-GMO, grass-fed beef that was never fed or injected with hormones or antibiotics throughout the course of its life.
“With this mirror finish, a couple cool things happen: All the heat in this is concentrated right here,” Mefford says, holding his hand three to four inches above the grill, and then raises it about two feet. “So if I hold my hand up here, there’s no heat. What that does is we get a massive sear; all the burgers are going to be put on here and all the juices are going to instantly be sealed inside. This is unlike any griddle that there is.”
It’s something the Kelly’s marketing team could have only dreamed of: a space-age, chrome-grilled burger of the future that’s ready in an instant. Luckily for us, The Future is now.
Boulevard Burger and Brew is located at 1300 N. Boulevard, and is set to open Wednesday, Jan. 6. Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to midnight. When the restaurant eventually opens for lunch, hours will be from 11 a.m. to midnight.
Correction: This post originally stated Fat Dragon is fewer than 250 feet away; it is in fact fewer than 350 feet away from Boulevard Burger and Brew.
