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(From left) Matt Kirwan, Renee Comstock and Rawleigh Easley of Daisy's
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The dining room inside Daisy’s features two communal tables.
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The dining room at Daisy’s seats 48, with 48 additional seats on the patio.
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The collage of canine portraits at Daisy’s
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Daisy's will serve breakfast and lunch and offer coffee from Richmond-based Afterglow Coffee Cooperative.
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The patio area at Daisy’s
A morning spot to grab coffee, an easygoing lunch destination, a happy hour hangout with river views, and the only eatery offering snacks and sips within sight of the recently debuted Allianz Amphitheater. When Daisy’s opens Saturday, June 12, at 500 Tredegar St., the casual all-day cafe aims to check all those boxes.
Attached to The Foundry at Historic Tredegar event space, Daisy’s is helmed by chef turned caterer Matt Kirwan, previously of Grisette, The Roosevelt and The Shaved Duck. Joining him is Rawleigh Easley, owner of Bellevue’s Neighbor and a longtime dining industry worker.
For nearly a decade, Easley has also been head of catering for NewMarket Corporation, owner of the Daisy’s and Allianz Amphitheater properties. Last year, Kirwan, who has been offering personal chef services through his HomePlate venture since 2022, connected with Easley during a gig for NewMarket. Shortly after, the company approached the pair about spearheading the Daisy’s project.
“[The restaurant space] was originally just a kind of a catering kitchen for the Foundry and for the amphitheater, but it was kind of their idea, like, ‘What do you think about putting [in] a restaurant with a patio?’ We obviously loved it, and we want to be involved in any way, shape or form,” Easley says.
An avid music fan, Kirwan says, “It’s kind of great, two of my passions coming together.”
With daily service after its debut, Daisy’s will focus on consistent, approachable, not-too-fussy cuisine. Easley is accustomed to operating a casual neighborhood concept, and after a decade spent in the fine-dining realm, including a stint for Michelin-starred chef Matt Conroy, Kirwan recognizes a shift in what consumers are seeking.
“This will be a nice change of pace, different, and I think that’s what the world wants right now,” he says. “I hate the term fast-casual, but that’s really what it’s going to be, and I think that’s just the way dining is leaning.”
Inside, communal tables serve as the centerpiece of the dining room, with bright blue and yellow wooden chairs lining each side of the space. Two-top tables hug the perimeter, and out front, a 48-seat patio enables al fresco dining with a quintessential Richmond view: trains chugging by on the elevated riverside track. The restaurant is named for the golden retriever of Annie Hazelgrove, director of hospitality for NewMarket, and on the main wall of the cafe, a collage of colorful frames features painted canine portraits.
Morning fare includes a.m. archetypes: avocado toast topped with a fried egg, everything seasoning and pickled onions on sourdough; thick-sliced brioche French toast with orange custard, blackberry-thyme compote and local honey; an acai bowl with fresh fruit. There is also a fried chicken biscuit with pickles and hot honey and a breakfast burrito packed with chorizo, egg, crispy potatoes, cheddar and pico de gallo.
Egg and cheese sandwiches come on a choice of kaiser roll, biscuit or local bagel, the latter sourced from Sunday Bagel. Daisy’s will be the exclusive source of the pop-up’s sourdough rounds (sesame, everything and salt) outside its periodic events and weekly appearances at Birdhouse Farmers Market. Patrons also can start the morning with brews from Afterglow Coffee Cooperative.
The lunch menu is a collection of sandwiches and salads, featuring a summery offering with charred corn, marinated tomatoes and scallion vinaigrette; bright and herby green goddess; and English pea. Other options include a quinoa bowl with blueberry, mint, squash and crispy kale, and a beet and burrata salad. Diners can add grilled or crispy chicken, barbecued shrimp, salmon or steak to the salads.
Sandwiches give a nod to the Mediterranean, from mortadella with ricotta and salsa verde on focaccia to an Italian-leaning chicken cutlet, plus tarragon chicken salad on sourdough. Veg-friendly diners can opt for the chickpea salad wrap with orange-tarragon vinaigrette, feta, pickled onions and local greens or a seasonal, herby ricotta toast.
While Daisy’s will not offer dinner service, it will serve happy hour dishes — a showcase of shareable, snacky apps ($8-$14) — when the amphitheater hosts events. Expect dippy bites such as fried oysters with remoulade and shishito peppers with buttermilk ranch, in addition to a refreshing watermelon-feta-mint salad and a flatbread with grilled peaches, burrata, basil pesto and balsamic. For heftier handhelds, both served on brioche buns, there’s the Daisy Dog, a hot dog with pickled mustard seed chowchow, and the Daisy Burger, a plump 6-ounce patty with American cheese, house pickles and sauce.
“I’m taking the same approach to the menu as fine dining, just gearing it towards breakfast and sandwiches and good salads,” Kirwan says.
Beyond concertgoers, the restaurant aims to serve the hundreds employees who work in nearby office buildings. Kirwan notes, “We want to target them to get breakfast and coffee before you head into work [or] on your lunch break. We’re going to make sure everything comes out quick, so in that half-hour window you still have time to eat.”
In the kitchen, Kirwan is backed by Renee Comstock, a Richmond native, culinary school grad and most recently executive chef at Capital One’s West Creek campus. Comstock, Kirwan and Easley all held stints at the Country Club of Virginia, though never simultaneously.
“I’ve lived here my whole life, and there’s never been anything like this down here, so to get in on the ground floor is really special,” Comstock says.
Adult beverages at Daisy’s include cocktail classics with music-centric names, in addition to drink specials that salute performers at the amphitheater. Virginia beers will be on tap along with Richmond-based Blue Bee Cider and a rosé-driven wine list.
In the winter months, when the amphitheater is dark, Kirwan says he looks forward to entering play mode. The quieter season presents the opportunity for wine dinners, pop-ups and other events. But first, they want to get through their inaugural week of service, which coincides with a jam-packed lineup of musical acts including Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band and Brad Paisley.
“This is a hell of an opportunity,” Easley says. “It’s cool to be down here near the amphitheater [and] Brown’s Island, where everything goes on. We really hope it’s a success.”
Daisy’s will be open Monday to Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., with happy hour from 4 to 8 p.m.; and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
