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Supper Club opened in May on Ridge Road in Tuckahoe.
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Supper Club owners Carlisle Bannister and Christy Dobrucky
Don’t expect live music and dancing at Supper Club at 417 N. Ridge Road in Henrico’s Tuckahoe neighborhood. But be prepared to find chef-prepared meals, artisan cheese, fresh meats and seafood, and plenty of Southern fried chicken. Led by chef and proprietor Carlisle Bannister, the neighborhood market pays homage to the traditional 1960s supper club Bannister’s grandfather ran in downtown Richmond. The shop opened in May, and the idea came to fruition after Bannister and his wife, Christy Dobrucky, began making food for their neighborhood during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Richmond magazine: What led you to start Supper Club?
Carlisle Bannister: Well, in 2020, when the pandemic began, I was the operator out at Upper Shirley Vineyards, and we had shut down, so I was kind of scrambling. We were selling prepared meals to friends, families and neighbors, and that concept just exploded.
Even after things opened back up, we continued to thrive, and people loved the concept of having chef-driven, prepared foods done really well. So my wife and I were like, “This is something we need to keep doing after things get back to normal,” so we started looking for spaces.
RM: Was it difficult to start a business during the pandemic?
Bannister: Our build-out was the hardest thing that my wife and I ever did. When we finally did find the right place — we feel like our space in the Tuckahoe shopping center is a magical place — we love it there, we love serving that neighborhood. I live in that neighborhood, and it’s so nice to work and cook for that community, but the build-out was incredibly hard. It was three times more expensive than we thought and three times longer than we thought. My wife and I, this is the first time we had ever done something like this, so we just put our blood, sweat, tears, souls, everything into that. And we got there, and we’re open and happy and thriving. It was worth all the heartache and the hardship.
RM: Where did the name Supper Club come from?
Bannister: We were throwing around ideas of what to call our business, and you know, we just started thinking about — my family has been in the restaurant business for generations in Richmond, and in the 1960s in downtown Richmond my grandfather ran a true supper club like what you would think of a supper club from the ’50s and ’60s, with dinner, dancing, live music, and it was like, “OK, Supper Club!” That works with our theme, and it’s something we can talk about as far as being a business my grandfather ran, and it was kind of a neat thing. The business he ran was called Leon’s Supper Club.
RM: Did you always want to be a chef?
Bannister: Well, actually, no, to be honest with you. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I was a young person and going through school and then college. I was a business major. … When I finished school, I went back to work in my family’s business and just never looked back. It was a no-brainer for me. I was like, “I love this, and it’s fun, and I enjoy the cooking part but also the business side of things.”
RM: Tell me about your charcuterie boards.
Bannister: We have some of the best selection of cheese and charcuterie, especially for a small market, and we just thought that a lot of people can get intimidated when picking all of that out and putting one together. So, what we had offered was for our team to put together a charcuterie board, so people can just bring in their favorite board from their house and either give us a budget or tell us what things they like or don’t like, and we just kind of go to town and have fun, and our guys love doing that.
RM: Is there a customer favorite?
Bannister: I would say, as a whole, the customer favorites are all of our prepared foods. People have just been loving having dinner done or their entertainment package done. I’m adding and changing every week so the menu doesn’t stay the same — ever. There’s some things that are fan favorites. As simple as it is, our chicken piccata — we opened in May and put that on the menu — has been our No. 1 seller week in and week out. It’s a simple dish, but folks love it. Now that the weather is changing, we are starting to do more seasonal things like stews and pot pies, but everything we do is with really great ingredients, all from scratch — soups and stocks. Cause you can go to different big-box stores and get prepared foods, but I think the quality is really what people come to us for.
RM: Can people get these prepared meals delivered?
Bannister: They can, yes. So what we’re doing is keeping it kind of simple right now. Each night of the week, we’re offering a different Supper Club special that can be delivered, so it’s one entree item, and they can pair it with a really nice salad and fresh-baked bread and/or a couple of dessert items. They preorder, and we deliver it. It’s a no-fee delivery. Unlike other delivery services, we’re not tacking on extra fees. [Delivery is offered] in about eight or so ZIP codes around Supper Club from downtown in the Fan, all the way into Goochland. A lot of people are like, “I’m not in your delivery zone!” but you can come pick up, and if it takes off, and we have the means, we would always be open to picking up additional ZIP codes.
RM: What’s next for Supper Club?
Bannister: Well, there’s some hints and rumors of Supper Club 2.0. Nothing super in the works yet, but I’m starting to get the itch.
We also want to maybe offer more hot-and-ready foods. All of our foods are prepared cold and packaged to take home and heat up. We’re thinking about maybe offering a couple specials one or two nights a week where folks can come in and get dinner that is hot and ready. The hot-and-ready food option we already have — one of the greatest things we do — is our fried chicken. We have true Southern fried chicken, both bone-in and tenders, and we do great with that and have heard a lot of positive feedback.
One of the keys to our success is that we have been lucky — and I know so many people are struggling to find great people. But I just wake up every morning and go to work and count my blessings for the awesome people that we have working at Supper Club. We’ve got such a great staff, and it really shows with the customer service and food. I’m really proud of that.
Visit supperclubmarket.com to learn more about Supper Club’s menu, catering and delivery.
