1 of 4
Antonio Owen, chef-owner of Sweet P's (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
2 of 4
Sweet P's is located at 304 W. Broad St.
3 of 4
Sweet P's is open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch
4 of 4
Antonio Owen would say cheffing is his second calling. The Richmond native’s first was serving in the military. He joined the army after being nudged by a local judge when he was younger, but the impact of that decision has stuck with him.
“It actually saved my life,” Owen says. “If I could go thank [the judge], I would; It changed my life forever.”
For 10 years he served his country, working in the medical field, learning discipline and drive. Since then, he’s found a new line to work and a different uniform to wear — a restaurant kitchen and pressed chef’s coat. Last month, Owen debuted Sweet P’s at 304 W. Broad St.; the name of the downtown restaurant is a tribute to his late mother, Paulette.
“I started thinking about what we would call it and instantly knew,” he says, noting that his mother was known for baking incredible pound cakes such as apple rum and his favorite, sour cream. “She had an email she used called “sweet p’s,” and that’s where the name came.”
Inside Sweet P’s, there are warm pops of green from the foliage and linens, rattan lights hang from the ceiling, and the white walls provide a bright backsplash for works from Richmond mixed-media artist Brent LoVerde. Aiming to find the balanced between casual and fine dining, Owen describes the space as comfortable and says, “When I thought about the feel … I’m all about inclusiveness and being able to be yourself. You should just walk in and be like, ‘This feels good.’”
Salt & Acid founder and bar consultant Beth Dixon — coincidentally LoVerde's partner — devised the restaurant's cocktail menu. Sip on Sweet P's Punch, a mezcal, Aperol, pineapple, cinnamon and lime concoction, or the Carda-Rum Old Fashioned with Virago Spirits Four Port Rum, cardamom-infused maple, orange and aromatic bitters.
Sweet P’s is open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, and offerings were made with vegan and gluten-free diners in mind. The menu features everything from dunkable Peruvian chicken fries served with a fresh, zippy and soon-to-be-bottled housemade aji amarillo sauce to a vegan oyster mushroom piccata and braised short ribs.
“I like to say we're upscale American,” Owen says. “For me American is a blanket term because it covers so much; we’re a melting pot for a reason.”
For smalls, find hot-honey tossed Brussels sprouts, pan-seared octopus with chorizo, cannellini beans, candied lemon and Romesco, and a jumbo lump crab cake. Other dishes include a roasted beet salad, scallops with orange and fennel, and cardamom-rubbed salmon.
Handhelds list the enoki Nashville, a vegetarian and gluten-friendly riff on the crispy chicken sandwich. Owen says the thin mushroom is dredged and coated in a gluten-free breading before being fried and slathered with sauce, slaw and pickles on a vegan brioche. Other additions include a roasted chicken sandwich with apple chutney and a smash burger that Owens touts as a banger.
Desserts are playful, like the gluten-free banana pudding roll — think Swiss rolls but with vanilla cake and caramelized bananas — or the tiramisu arancini. During brunch, Sweet P's offers a crab cake benedict, housemade biscuits with Edwards sausage gravy, a vaquero omelet stuffed with Spanish chorizo, peppers, and onions and served with papatas bravas, and more.
While the restaurant industry is not necessarily new to Owen, the role of ownership is. He landed in restaurants after the military, holding positions from bartender to manager. When he recognized there was more to chew in terms of knowledge, he took a leap and signed up for culinary school at Hyde Park in New York. Viewing the decision as a re-investment in himself and his career, becoming a student revealed something else — he was a chef.
“My intent wasn’t to be a chef, it was to learn and to make me better as front-of-house so I could be a liaison between the two, and I just stayed cooking," he says. "Being older and going to culinary school set a different precedent cause I had goals in mind. It was an important step for me to take.”
After school he landed at Le Cirque, a seminal French restaurant that had multiple outposts in the city and an almost 50-year tenure. Since returning to Richmond he has worked as the culinary director for Toast and, a few years ago, launched his personal chef business, Chef AntyO. When he ran into zoning hurdles, he decided to secure a space that would allow him to offer his private chef services and curate the convivial environment he's dreamed of.
“We want to be a Richmond staple, for people to be like, ‘It’s a date night, we’re going to Sweet P’s, they’re going to make our chocolate soufflé to order,” he says. “That’s kind of what we pride ourselves on, being approachable and make food seasonally and from scratch so you can have a great meal. Going out to eat shouldn't just be about going out. It should nourish the body, mind and soul. That's something, yeah, that every one of us buy into here."
Sweet P's is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
