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Bar Buoy will replace Brenner Pass, which has its last day of service on Aug. 30.
If Brittanny Anderson were to describe her must-haves for an idyllic day, being waterside and casting a rod while sipping a crisp cold one would certainly make the list. The Northern Neck native and avid boater comes from a family of oystermen and crabbers, and next month, the James Beard Award-nominated chef and Food Network alum is bringing a slice of home to Richmond.
In September, Anderson will introduce Bar Buoy, a casual, fish shack-inspired restaurant drawing inspiration from her ancestors and the waterways of Virginia. The concept will replace Brenner Pass, which has its final day of service Saturday, Aug. 30.
Anderson says of Bar Buoy, “We want it to be fun. We want to be a place where you can come all the time but the food is still going to be quality, cool, seasonal ingredients.”
After a nearly eight-year run and a shift to sole proprietorship, Anderson is bidding farewell to Brenner Pass, which opened in 2017 to much acclaim, including landing on Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants list.
“I’m obviously kind of teary and misty about saying goodbye to it, but at the end of the day, I feel like I’d rather have a place where we can see all kinds of people all the time, and not just special occasions,” she says. “I opened this restaurant with partners, and none of them are around anymore. I realized so much of what we did here, I just kept doing because it's the way it was. I do think there are stopping points for things creatively.”
As much as Alsatian and Alpine cuisine has been a part of Anderson’s culinary foundation, it doesn’t have to be her sole identity. The Gloucester girl has picked too many crabs for that.
She notes that fans of European cuisine can still get their fix at Metzger Bar & Butchery in Union Hill, and that the two sibling restaurants competed with each other somewhat. And though they were related concepts, there is one big difference between them: Brenner Pass’ dining room and adjacent bar Black Lodge make for a whopping 7,000-square-foot space.
“The way the market’s been going, I was like, ‘We’ve got to make some changes,’” Anderson says in regard to Brenner Pass. “I need every square foot to be making money in order to keep up. Every single one. So in order to do that, I was like, I just don’t see how we can. I don’t see this growing. You hit like, six to eight years of being open, and that’s when I think a lot of business starts to fall off.”
Rather than continuing to cruise, Anderson is charting a new course: same crew, different ship. While keeping her front-of-house team steady — and presenting everyone a chance to switch it up — the biggest challenge is flipping the space.
“We have everything here that we need,” she says. “I would be surprised if we don’t see more people doing this.”
Anderson has reeled in interior design firm Studio Tarea to manifest her vision. The creative team is the force behind Anderson’s girl-powered fever dream, Pink Room, which debuted last year. Expect a coastal refresh similar to Charleston, South Carolina, stalwarts like Sullivan’s Fish Camp and Leon’s Oyster Shop.
The mood board for Bar Buoy by Studio Tarea. Studio Tarea is also collaborating with Gamut Studio to create six cheeky seafood companies — such as Clamburger Helper and Crab Daddy Bisque — that will line the shelves of the new space and be incorporated into the design.
The true compass for Bar Buoy, however, is Anderson’s late great-grandmother, Dora Henderson, and the gas station and country store that the home cook operated for almost 40 years in the Northern Neck. From dill pickle green cabinets to cafe curtains reminiscent of her dresses, retro Coca-Cola bottle holders and campy, vintage cans of seafood, the design influences for the new space follow the family lineage. A more modern touch: the addition of two TVs.
For the past several months, Anderson’s pop-up Seashell has allowed her to do a little R&D and test the waters for her broader vision. Dishes such as shrimp wraps with coconut, cucumber, peanuts and lime and tuna nachos with salsa macha and avocado crema will become permanent menu items.
The menu at Bar Buoy will include sandwiches, fried fish plates, Southern-inspired snacks, sides and shellfish. Expect smoked fish dip, hefty salads and seafood mainstays such as oyster chowder, peel-and-eat shrimp, and briny bivalves from Matheson Oyster Co.
Find crabs two ways — steamed and patted into crabcakes — along with fried flounder, pan-roasted grouper and roasted chicken. Entrees will come with two sides, such as potato or egg salad and a housemade buttermilk biscuit. For dessert, Anderson plans on simple, classic offerings such as Smith Island Cake, a layered vanilla and chocolate cake with roots in the Eastern Shore.
Diners can also anticipate what Anderson dubs the “hero dish,” a Salisbury steak with onion rings and caramelized onions lovingly doused in gravy. “Our plates are fun,” she says. “All of these things are kind of coming out of the crab shack, fish house standard, but we don’t want to take it too far.”
Cocktails will exude you-should-be-seaside vibes. On brand with the waterside ambiance, the beverage menu will feature everything from a playful take on a martini to an Orange Crush with clarified orange juice, as well as buttered popcorn rum and cokes. Domestic beers will be on tap, in addition to a selection of nonalcoholic sodas.
For Anderson, 43, Bar Buoy marks a return to self, and with it, a shedding of external pressures and expectations.
"I have never felt more comfortable with who I am and my choices, how I feel in my own skin, and I’m less scared than I used to be. I just want to do what I feel creatively inspired to do,” Anderson says.
“It’s hard to make changes. I’m a person who’s never not going to try; you’ve always got to try,” she continues. “This is a big risk, in a way, but I think that Richmond will be excited about a place like this. I feel like it’s filling a little hole and will be a place where a lot of people will feel comfortable and happy.”
