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Jessica Wilson, chef-owner of Grace. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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The dining room inside Grace (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Bar area inside Grace featuring taps made from James River driftwood. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Details inside Grace (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Marigold cocktail at Grace made with a marigold cordial, Cirrus Vodka and sparkling. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Benne seed dip with marigold, smoked salt and country loaf. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Trio of bites including squash and shisho, garden pickles and a tomato and apple sipper from Grace. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
When Jessica Wilson chronicles her cooking journey, it seems as if she has lived 10 different lives. Raised in Vermont on her family’s farm and growing up vegetarian, she began working in restaurants as a dishwasher and graduated high school early to stay in the industry.
The culinary school grad spent summers on Martha’s Vineyard and was part of the team at Prune, an acclaimed restaurant in Manhattan's East Village. Wilson’s worked in a slew of other New York City kitchens, prepared meals on yachts in the middle of the Mediterranean and clocked tens of thousands of miles feeding people on trains.
If her 30 years of culinary endeavors are a story, it seems she’s about to reach a turning point. On Sept. 25, Wilson will debut Grace, a wood-fired, produce-forward restaurant steered by the seasons at 6919 Patterson Ave.
“I feel like I can hear it and feel it, the bustle of it all,” Wilson says in anticipation, standing in the restaurant weeks prior to opening.
Although she took over the former Odyssey space in July 2024, Wilson has been moving forward patiently, pushing aside expectations. “I could have easily just opened, but I’ve been working on this for so many years and have a vision,” she says. “Creating this space has been more important to me, because I want it to be different, and I want you to feel when you walk in here like you're at Grace.”
Wilson moved to Richmond in 2018 after a friend suggested she come check out the city. After 15 years of cheffing in New York City and opening places for others, she was ready for a change and to do something of her own. “So then I started doing the pop-up, Gather for Grace,” she says.
Since those first dinners in 2019, Wilson’s been living an arduous saga filled with less-than-savory contractors, a global pandemic and a few culinary curveballs. Most challenging, she was forced to forgo her original space in Church Hill, secured in 2020, after years of issues with the building and the landlord. "It did take me some time to move away from that first building," she says. "I sort of had to mourn the loss of that building, and it was a big loss."
Wilson had joined Hatch Local as a vendor, but her stint was cut short when the food hall closed unexpectedly in 2023. The latter hurdle, however, reiterated that not only could she pivot, but she was fond of counter-style service and the ability to personally deliver a plate to a guest. Above all, the shift granted Wilson the time to reassess her business plans and priorities.
"That kind of service inspired me, when I came in here, to look at it with a different eye,” Wilson says. “I had such a good experience giving people that."
The bar at Grace offers an intimate view of the kitchen. (Photo courtesy of Grace)
A sense of warmth radiates through the restaurant, which embraces farmhouse cookery. The nature-driven design in the intimate, 30-ish seat dining room is an echo of Wilson’s ethos as a person and a chef — a peek into her most inner musings. The space exudes a sense of calm or, some may say, grace.
Every decision behind the restaurant has been thoughtful and intentional, from tiny touches in the kitchen to lockers installed in the back for staff. Textured lime-wash walls frame the space, and vintage Italian tiles serve as the backdrop for the open kitchen. Papier-mache lamps, pops of whimsy created by a friend of Wilson’s, light the bar. The countertops are made from soapstone that the chef hand-picked in Albermarle County, while the bar taps are repurposed pieces of driftwood from the James River. Details, down to the flowers on the bar and a branch delicately dangling overhead in the dining room, were foraged by Wilson and her friends.
Cherry and birch wood, sourced locally, serve as the through line for the custom furniture created by Karl Harkness, founder of Iron Oak. There is a cozy banquette near the window, a couple of larger six-tops with bistro-style seats, and a communal table helmed by vintage Alsatian tavern chairs.
“Virginia is known for cherry wood, and it ages as it goes. It’s a hardwood but has a soft feeling, too,” Wilson says.
The centerpiece of Grace, however, is a wood-fired oven, a vessel that Wilson envisions sliding fresh fish into, coaxing the seasonality and spirit out of veggies, and nurturing ingredients. Rather than being intimidated by the restrictions — or simply installing an oven and two-burner induction — Wilson sees this as her moment.
“I’ve worked in small, weird places. I feel like I will put even more thought into how to cook in a small space and more of the behind-the-scenes technique,” she says. “Just because I have a small space and limited things, there's no reason that I can't just do full-on everything. I'm really excited. I'm really excited. Period.”
Grace will be guided by a sense of time and place and embrace an ethos of sustainability. “All the products that we use are eco friendly, or no VOC, or very low, all sustainable, which just goes with what we’re doing here,” Wilson says.
She is working with regional farmers spanning Virginia, Maryland and the Carolinas as well as purveyors such as Deep Roots Milling, a grain mill in Nelson County. But, at the end of the day, Wilson’s not seeking ingredients, she's establishing connections.
“I want to know what [farmers] have available, but I also want to use the things that they grow that they might not be able to sell, or they've been working to try to cultivate, sometimes, cover crops people don’t use,” she explains
The menu is described as shareable, with small dishes and sides. “Not the usual sides, just extra highlights of little things you can add to your stuff, or smaller dishes,” Wilson says.
Swordfish with tomato in an onion-thyme broth. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
On a soft opening night, heirloom zucchini strips arrive with a melange of melon and berry and a lemon vinaigrette. Local millet is stirred with Appalachian cheese and sunflower seeds for a homey, hearty offering. Other plates include a grilled chicken liver skewer spiked with pear and a swirl of sorghum, a lamb rib chop with eggplant, and swordfish blanketed with pulped tomato and an onion-thyme broth.
Grace will open with a small team, including beverage program lead Nick Bernazani, formerly of Adarra. His initial offerings focus heavily on natural wines and small family vineyards, particularly Virginia vintners such as Commonwealth Crush, Domaine Finot, Lightwell Survey and Troddenvale Cider. Beer choices include a pilsner from Ardent Craft Ales and 6th Lord IPA from Basic City Beer Company.
The concise cocktail list showcases distillers from the commonwealth. The Tomato features Cirrus Vodka, tomato water, and vermouth and arrives with a dainty pickled tomato vine garnish, and Fig Leaf joins an infused Virago rum with Lillet, tonic water and trifoliate orange. An easy-going sipper, the Marigold brings together Cirrus Vodka, sparkling wine, and marigold petal cordial, while the Goldenrod, a boozier counterpart, combines Catoctin Creek Rye, Laird's apple brandy, golden strega and suze.
The restaurant plans to offer a happy hour, dubbed Afternoon Gather, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. daily. The predinner window promises small bites and a more casual opportunity for diners to pop in for a glass and a plate or two. Wilson hopes to introduce lunch over the winter and a patio come spring.
For Wilson, much of this opening experience has been intuitive. It has always been about where food comes from, the people plucking fruits and vegetables from the earth, and the exhilarating cadence that a meal can deliver when there’s a sense of purpose. “Being an activist was always just how I was raised," she says, "and living off of our land.”
A believer in listening to the universe, Wilson feels like everything has finally aligned. Noting the offset circle she's using as a symbol for the restaurant, she explains, “It was an inspiration for me for a long time, that being the four seasons and the idea that everything is all encompassing. I feel like Grace should be well received; we'll give everybody something.”
Grace debuts Sept. 25 at 6919 Patterson Ave. and initially will be open from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday through Monday (closed Tuesday and Wednesday). Check Instagram for the latest hours.
