Expect Garnett's Café menu favorites, as well as a few new surprises, when the Fan restaurant opens its second location this spring. (Photo by Molly Scott Photo & Video Inc. courtesy Garnett's at The Valentine)
There's nothing quite like a spring stroll through The Valentine museum's gardens and courtyard, a lush 15,000 square feet perfect for an afternoon escape from the office. The only thing that could improve this scene, of course, is a perfect lunch to enjoy there. Previously, guests could enjoy cupcakes, deviled eggs and boxed lunches from Sally Bell's, which occupied the small brick café there until last month. This spring, guests will find a new tenant in the space: Garnett's Café is moving in this May.
"Kendra [Feather]'s new venture at The Valentine is a perfect match," museum Director Bill Martin says in a news release. "We both share a commitment to the revitalization of the city and creating an amazing experience for our guests."
Between Garnett's in the Fan, Laura Lee's in Forest Hill, The Roosevelt in Church Hill and Ipanema near VCU, Feather keeps busy keeping Richmond well fed. But according to her husband and business partner, John Murden Jr., who'll be managing Garnett's at The Valentine, the decision was an easy one.
"The conversation was like, 'Oh my god, could we do another place?' But it just is a special opportunity," he says. "I'm a history geek, and we adore Bill Martin. The Valentine is such a great place, and to come in after Sally Bell's feels like a historic opportunity as well."
Murden and Feather face a few kitchen limitations in their second Garnett's location; there's no ventilation in the café at The Valentine, which means there will be no panini press. Even so, the menu there will be recognizable to Garnett's-in-the-Fan's fans, with a few surprises: Roughly half of the menu from 2001 Park Ave. will carry over to the new downtown outpost, with a bit of Ipanema's menu to boot, plus a few completely new items. "We see it as a chance to try out some new things that would fit with Garnett's, but [that] might be a more modern-type idea," Murden says, noting that he and Feather are looking at adapting the classic boxed-lunch concept to include more modern and healthy options.
Garnett's at The Valentine will focus on lunch, serving from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, but should the team hear demand for mornings and early after-work hours, it's possible the hours may extend to accommodate. Expect similar price points to the Fan's Garnett's Café, as well as the same baked goods, supplied by Laura Lee's. Murden estimates a late-May opening, but guarantees a launch by the first weekend in June, when the museum's summer concert series begins.
"We're so excited to get into downtown like this," says Feather in a news release. "The garden is beautiful, and The Valentine is such an amazing Richmond institution — this is a dream."
Garnett's at The Valentine is slated to open in the museum's courtyard in late May, serving lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. The Valentine is located at 1015 E. Clay St. For updates, follow Garnett's at The Valentine on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
