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(From left) Get Tight Lounge owners Drew Schlegel and Randy O'Dell
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A pit beef sandwich and the Get Tight Light house beer, brewed by Tabol Brewing
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A vegetarian "pit beet" sandwich
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The back patio features a stage that will be used for local and regional acts.
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A michelada made with Get Tight Light
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Get Tight's retro flair is found throughout the space, including the bathrooms.
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Part of the bar area at Get Tight Lounge
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Not quite traditional barbecue, not quite a roast beef sandwich, the pit beef is in a league of its own, and the thin-sliced, Baltimore-bred delicacy has officially entered the Richmond food scene via Get Tight Lounge.
“What we’ve done is taken traditional pit beef and kind of kicked it up a notch,” says co-owner and Baltimore native Drew Schlegel, previously of North Side’s Fuzzy Cactus.
Part restaurant, part neighborhood bar, part music venue, Get Tight Lounge is the brainchild of Schlegel and Randy O’Dell, co-owner of En Su Boca. Located at 1104 W. Main St. in the Fan, the newly opened spot exudes big disco energy with retro wood paneling, pops of ’70s-era colors, a bathroom bedecked with framed pictures of Farrah Fawcett and Burt Reynolds, and a festival-esque outdoor patio with performance stage.
So how did these two — a cowboy hat-wearing bass player with restaurant industry roots who relocated to Richmond from Austin, Texas, and a seasoned restaurateur who once owned the bygone Mezzanine and has called Richmond home for almost 30 years — join forces?
O’Dell, formerly of Beauvine Burger Concept, says he had been eyeing the Main Street property for years and originally acquired the space in March 2020 with plans to debut a second outpost of En Su Boca. After the pandemic put a pause on the project, O’Dell’s En Su Boca co-owner, Patrick Stump, backed out of the project.
Looking for a partner, and familiar with each other’s previous ventures, O’Dell and Schlegel connected to explore the potential of the multiuse space.
“We thought, how can we do something that is music related on campus and kind of bring this vibe that is kind of disappearing from this area, and make something that is for everyone that is not the same as everything going around here, but also doesn’t feel like it’s something that doesn’t belong,” Schlegel says.
The answer lay in a pit beef sandwich, with an origin story tied to a Depression-era roadside stand on the outskirts of Route 40 in Maryland, an allure that draws a line of eager early risers to institutions such as Baltimore’s Chap’s — which is housed in the parking lot of a strip club — and enough relevance to earn a mention in the new HBO series “We Own This City.”
“We were trying to figure out how this concept could come together and had this idea of doing pit beef,” Schlegel says.
A pit beef from Wargo’s Restaurant & Tavern reaffirmed the decision. Previously unfamiliar with the iconic sandwich, O’Dell says, “[Schlegel] brought one back, and I was like [mind-blown].”
Along with chef Ethan Lindquist, the crew took a trip straight to the source, making multiple visits to the 410 area code and conducting serious R&D before eventually earning the blessing of Wargo’s owner Andy Wargo to share the sandwich with the Richmond masses.
Cooked over a custom-made pit and charred to temp, top round from Seven Hills Food is served pink or no pink, thinly sliced, layered on a roll baked in-house, then joined by slivers of onions, mayo, horseradish and house-made Get Tight barbecue sauce.
Other menu items include a vegetarian “pit beet,” with char-grilled beets, goat cheese-Greek yogurt spread, arugula, shredded carrots, onions and a Champagne vinaigrette; regular and vegetarian chili; a Frito pie; and handcut french fries sold by the cup, boardwalk-style.
On tap: Currently, spirits and cocktails only, from Teremana tequila blanco to George Dickle bourbon and a Oaxaca Negroni.
A Taylor ice cream machine — the grandaddy of dispensers used by the likes of McDonald’s — serves up a frozen vegan horchata cold brew mezcal milkshake. Other house hooch includes a vegan white Russian, a house-made fireball and a Red-headed Stranger made with sweet vermouth, Prosecco, soda and an olive.
While Natty Boh, aka National Bohemian beer, aka Baltimore’s PBR, is available, the owners wanted a locally inspired counterpart. Dubbed Get Tight Light, the sessionable 4% lager brewed in collaboration with North Side’s Tabol Brewing was crafted with drinkability in mind and made with hops used in a Mexican lager.
And a riff on Red Bull and vodka? Why not? A self-described fanboy of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Schlegel says their house shot, The Rock Bottom, is inspired by the actor and former pro wrestler and features Johnson’s tequila brand, Teremana, dropped into a glass of sugar-free pineapple-coconut Zoa, the energy drink also owned by Johnson.
Out back is where the rest of the Get Tight Lounge vision unfolds, the patio dotted with wooden tables and anchored by a stage, the secluded musical lair also home to a walk-up order station serving to-go fare.
“You get off work, you can still come here and hang and meet people and the band and get that community feel going,” says Schlegel, noting that, as a musician, restaurants have always been his second job, and bars his post-shift spot.
The owners plan to showcase local acts in addition to regional bands. Curating a late-night culture — the kitchen is open until 1:30 a.m. — Get Tight Lounge is a balance of unpolished and casual meets thoughtful and fun, exuding an “anybody can drink here” dive bar vibe.
“A couple of friends walked in for the first time and said they felt like they had been here three or four times, and that’s what it’s all about,” Schlegel says. “We want to let everyone know, this is where you come to get pit beef. And I feel like we wanted this place to be unique to Richmond.”
Get Tight Lounge is currently open Wednesday through Sunday from 4:20 p.m. to 2 a.m., with happy hour from 4:20 to 6 p.m. In the coming weeks, the lounge will be open from 11 to 2 a.m.
