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Brandi Brown, owner of The Hive Bar & Grill
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The Hive Bar & Grill is located in the former Saison space at 23 W. Marshall St. in Jackson Ward.
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The dining area at The Hive Bar & Grill; along the walls, diners will spot records from Brown’s family collection.
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Adjacent to the restaurant is The Hive Market. The mural is painted by local artist Jason Ford, who also completed the mural inside Brown’s other business, Ms. Bee’s Juice Bar.
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The dining area inside The Hive Market. Brown hopes to offer outdoor seating in the spring and summer.
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The menu at The Hive Market
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The mural outside The Hive Bar & Grill and The Hive Market was completed by Richmond-based artist Jowarnise of Jowarnise Art + Design.
Last year on her birthday, Brandi Brown, owner of Ms. Bee’s Juice Bar on Brookland Park Boulevard, woke up feeling defeated. A space she had been hoping to secure for a new food and beverage venture had fallen through. But that wasn’t the end of the story.
“I remember it like it was yesterday: My landlord said, ‘Not all is lost, I may have another property,’” she recalls.
The next morning, Brown was driving in Jackson Ward when she spotted the shuttered Saison storefront. She pulled over to peek in the windows, and something called to her. When she went home that night, her landlord texted her the address of a vacant building — it turned out to be the one she had viewed earlier that day.
This year on her birthday, Feb. 6, Brown hosted a grand opening and ribbon cutting for The Hive Bar & Grill, her new restaurant and adjacent market located in the former Saison space at 23 W. Marshall St.
“It’s all fate, so I’m really glad to be in the historical Jackson Ward area,” Brown says.
A Richmond native, Brown says she always envisioned a neighborhood bar and grill as part of her portfolio. But she’s been busy. She debuted her North Side juice bar in 2020, and the following year she secured a space inside The Valentine museum after winning The Main Course competition. The Hive Bar & Grill marks Brown’s third brick-and-mortar operation within the past four years.
The new restaurant brings new life to a space that served the neighborhood for a decade as Saison. Brown says she’s looking forward to offering late-night options, especially for the staff at fellow food businesses in the area, with a tighter, appetizer-only menu kicking off at 10 p.m.
The venture also allows Brown the ability to bring in business more consistently. “The juice bar only sustains itself nine months of the year,” she says. “I have this gap between November to February. This was my pivot. I said, ‘I don’t want to close the juice bar down, so lets see if I can do a two-in-one.’”
Starters at The Hive Bar & Grill include Bo’s wings (available in honey-bourbon, hot honey, lemon pepper and The Hive dry rub), shrimp burger sliders, crab mac and cheese, shrimp and grits, and coconut-curry mussels. Sandwiches range from a barbecue jackfruit burger to the Crispy Chick, a fried chicken sandwich served on a signature garlic-butter brioche.
Entrees include Thai-barbecue lamb chops, the chef’s catch of the day, Peruvian half chicken and Cajun pasta. Vegetarian diners can find jackfruit asada nachos, alkaline cabbage soup, vegan chili and veggie kabobs. Sunday brunch features chicken and waffles, salmon crabcakes, a French toast platter, and omelettes your way.
The bar at the bar and grill offers signature cocktails such as The Bee’s Sting, made with Jack Daniels, ginger ale, spicy agave and local honey. Wine available at the market is strictly from female-owned vintners, imported by Richmond-based Shoe Crazy Wines. Brown says she plans to host tastings during First Fridays.
Inside, the space boasts a bright new interior, royal blue bar top and fresh flooring. It’s also buzzing with honeybee accents — a nod to Brown’s sister concepts — from light fixtures to tiling that resembles honeycombs. Walls are covered with record albums by music legends from Frank Sinatra to Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin and Issac Hayes. Next door at The Hive Market, a massive canary-colored mural painted by Jason Ford — who also adorned the walls of Brown’s juice bar in North Side — demands attention, a beaming canopy of beautifully painted bees.
The market is open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with breakfast offered until 10 a.m. Diners can find a collection of items named after Brown’s family, such as The Rosa Leigh, an everything bagel with lox, pickled red onions and capers; Mary France’s Finest, a platter of fried catfish, red potato and eggs; and Uncle Charlie’s fried chicken biscuit. The menu also includes plant-based staples from the juice bar including the “Karat Tuna,” a vegan, carrot-rich spin on a tuna salad sandwich, along with a chunky mango chicken salad wrap and assorted breakfast toasts. Guests can choose from a limited selection of cold-pressed juices and smoothies, in addition to grab-and-go items, but Brown says The Hive Market is not another outpost of the juice bar.
“If I give you all everything Ms. Bee’s has, you won’t go see Ms. Bee’s,” she says with a laugh.
Patrons may also spot the words “Habakkuk 2:2” embellishing the mural inside the market, a reference to a Bible verse Brown holds dear to her heart, as it represents her journey. “That’s my favorite scripture right there,” she says, pointing to the wall. “Write the vision, make it plain. He who sees it will run to it. Even though it may tarry, it will surely come at its appointed time.”
The Hive Bar & Grill is open Sunday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. The Hive Market is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
