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Husband-and-wife team Mike Lindsey and Kimberly Love-Lindsey of Jubilee
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Jubilee seats about 50 diners.
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Jubilee is located at 1301 Hull St. in Richmond's South Side.
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The counter area inside Jubilee
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Jubilee will offer three seatings a night.
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Booth seating in the dining room
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Additional seating at Jubilee
“This is a celebration for us,” restaurateur Mike Lindsey says of Jubilee, the forthcoming restaurant from Lindsey Food Group, led by Lindsey and wife Kimberly Love-Lindsey. “Of stepping out on our own and being successful, and truly being happy and loving what we do and having an incredible team."
And celebrate they should. Since 2020, Lindsey Food Group has opened five eateries — including the Southern- and African-tinged restaurant Lillie Pearl downtown and two locations of the fast-casual (and quickly growing) fried chicken concept Buttermilk and Honey.
Located at 1303 Hull St. in Manchester, Jubilee will host its soft opening on Thursday, May 19. It's an ode to the couple's journey as restaurateurs, and an acknowledgment of the celebration surrounding the national holiday Juneteenth.
When diners enter the pair’s latest venture, they will be greeted with a flute of Champagne and encounter what the owners hope will be a pressure-free, intimate dining experience.
"As soon as we saw it, we said, 'We’re taking it,' ” Lindsey says of the restaurant space, most recently occupied by Wildcraft Focaccia Co. As for Jubilee itself, “It’s a place we always wanted to be able to open.”
Laid-back enough to feel welcoming for diners in T-shirts or ties, but with enough thoughtfulness to demand a second glance, the restaurant is Lindsey and Love-Lindsey's passion project. Inside, a retro lunch counter is fronted by a dozen swivel chairs, reminiscent of the couple's go-to date-night spot in Raleigh, Poole’s Diner.
“Kim and I always wanted a smaller space [for a restaurant], the ones we kind of like to go to eat,” Lindsey says. “This is more of a fun project than anything.”
Each night, the reimagined diner adorned with pops of blue will offer three seatings, at 5, 7 and 9 p.m., a choice Lindsey says will aid in the flow of service. Starters will include a tataki-style steak tartare with ponzu, seared scallops and charred caulilini with black pepper honey, bacon, pickled stem and Grana Padano. Mains will range from beef filet medallions with a blue cheese crunch, potato puree and beech mushrooms; Icelandic cod with creamed leeks, herb butter and heirloom tomatoes; and a West African seafood pot loaded with shrimp, mussels, salmon belly and a heap of garlic, shallots, okra and fresh herbs in obe ata sauce.
For something sweet, choose among blueberry shortcake with lemon-blueberry compote, a peanut butter crackle bar and a buttermilk pie — a Southern classic — with sweet potato and peach jam and Chantilly cream.
At the helm of Jubilee is Executive Chef G, who has been working alongside Lindsey and Love-Lindsey since 2016, when he began as a line cook at Red Salt Sushi & Chophouse while the trio were with EAT Restaurant Partners. On the front-of-house end, Mike Lindsey Jr. will be stepping into the role of general manager of his parents' restaurant, a sign of the legacy his parents are building.
The cocktail menu was designed by Beth Dixon — formerly behind the bar at Perch, L’Opossum and Pasture — mixologist and founder of the beverage consulting business Salt & Acid. Offering a fresh spin while also giving a shout-out to the neighborhood surrounding the restaurant, Cherries Jubilee features cognac, cherry herring, Luxardo maraschinos, rich vanilla syrup and acidified orange juice, while 13th and Hull blends bourbon, falernum, grapefruit juice and Fernet-Branca.
Jubilee is also a name for Juneteenth, the celebration of freedom of enslaved people in the United States.
“I always want to stay connected when I can to Black roots and what’s important to my community and for the work I feel like I’m doing for my community,” Lindsey says. “For me, again, that’s Jubilee, that’s an expression of what we’re able to do to celebrate and pay homage to Juneteenth.
“I know from the outside looking in it's like, 'These [people] are crazy,' but for us, … we’re used to this by now,” says Lindsey of Lindsey Food Group's rapidly expanding restaurant portfolio. “For us, it's trying to be ahead of the game, and [with Jubilee] just bringing energy to the area, and showing respect for it.”
Up next? ML Steakhouse, set to open in early fall in the former Fatty Smokes space, and a sister restaurant to Lillie Pearl in Short Pump dubbed Farm & Oak.
Jubilee will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m.
