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Chef Jimmy Sneed of the forthcoming Farmers Market Bistro
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Farmers Market Bistro will open at 9 E. Old St. in historic Old Towne Petersburg within the next couple of weeks.
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The Petersburg farmers market building was completed in 1895.
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A bird's-eye view from the mezzanine of Farmers Market Bistro
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Part of the dining area
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Another view from the second story of the restaurant
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The bar area inside Farmer's Market Bistro
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The dining room inside Farmer's Market Bistro seats 225 guests.
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The Farmers Market Bistro logo was created by photographer and designer Tyler Darden.
Jimmy Sneed is a particular chef. He’s straight-forward and direct, and when he asks questions he wants simple, yes or no answers. He is strikingly sarcastic, he hates to repeat himself, and if he demands something of his staff, he expects it done.
Although Sneed hasn’t been in a restaurant kitchen in the last four years, when the Farmers Market Bistro debuts in the former City Table space at 9 E. Old St. within the coming weeks, it will mark the beginning of a new chapter in a seasoned culinary career.
Sneed’s resume is punctuated by stints at the Watergate Hotel under French tour de force chef Jean-Louis Palladin and at the Windows on Urbanna Creek, where he transformed the idea of local seafood.
Along the way there were James Beard Award nominations, a PBS series with Julia Child, the opening of the perhaps ahead of its time The Frog and the Redneck — the critically acclaimed bistro that attracted national spotlight to the Richmond dining scene before it became a common occurrence, and saw chefs Dale Reitzer (Acacia Mid-town), Lee Gregory (Alewife and Southbound) and Kevin Roberts (Perly’s) pass through the kitchen — and shuttered Carytown pizza concept Blow Toad.
But despite decades of experience and accolades, Sneed views Farmers Market Bistro as an opportunity for an invigorating fresh start.
“I’m very excited. This is like me going to Richmond for the first time, coming to Petersburg in this spectacular building,” Sneed says.
The building is a driving reason Sneed wanted to take on the project.
“It’s one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen,” he says.
Since 1879, the historic farmers market building has stood as a pillar of Old Towne Petersburg. Upon entering the 10,000-square-foot brick building, which will seat 225 diners, your eyes immediately shoot skyward. Natural light streams in through countless windows, and the exposed wood and high ceilings give the building a monumental air.
The enchanting octagonal building, surrounded by cobblestone of Petersburg's pocket-sized downtown, exudes an aura of a simpler time. For decades the space sat empty.
Owned by the city of Petersburg, the building was leased in 2013 to City Market Investors LLC (CMI), a real estate partnership between Alexander "Sandy" Graham Jr. and Tom Wilkinson, in a 40-year deal. In late January of 2017, Farmers Market Restaurant & Bar opened after a $2 million renovation project, only to close less than six months later when the operator, former Richmond restaurateur Frits Huntjens, failed to pay rent.
In January 2018, new proprietors Cesare and Teri Evola took over the space as operators and opened City Table at the Farmers Market. But the couple also owned other restaurants, including Antonio’s in Chester, and couldn’t devote the time they wanted to the venture.
What originally began as a consulting project through Sneed’s business SugarToad Management Restaurant Consulting turned into a passing of the restaurant torch as Sneed took over the Evolas' lease with CMI.
“We’re happy to have him there,” says Graham, who originally reached out to Sneed two years ago about operating a restaurant in the building. “I was looking for an experienced operator who had the ability, through his reputation, to drive people through the doors. It is a high-volume restaurant, and somebody who has that kind of reputation can turn it into a destination restaurant, and that is what we were really looking for. He meets all of that criteria.”
Although time has passed since Sneed operated a kitchen, there’s no doubt that his edge is intact.
“Let’s hold it down, please,” he shouts sternly to his staff as we sit at the bar and their chatter begins to carry.
Sneed shares that, apart from eliminating walls in the dining area that seemed to close off the space, the interior of the restaurant has remained essentially the same.
“You have no idea how those walls closed up my whole mind, and now they are down and I feel free,” he says.
If anyone can bring life back into this space, Sneed seems an ideal candidate, possessing an intimate knowledge of the industry and an unwavering self-awareness as a chef.
“I’m going to give you a quote that so describes my food,” Sneed says, going on to quote the short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry: “ ‘A platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone, and not by meretricious ornamentation,’ ” he says, his pale blue eyes becoming glassy.
“Like all things should,” he adds, a smile spreading across his face.
For Sneed, beauty lies in simplicity, which is why diners won’t find dishes on his menu with a lengthy list of ingredients or terminology that requires Google to decode it. It’s also why there is only one color for plates in his restaurant.
“I serve all my food on white, bright white, because it's all about the food.”
Sneed says he won’t serve anything at the restaurant that he’d have to explain to his mother. The Southern-influenced menu will feature items including shrimp and grits, Chesapeake chowder, cast-iron buttermilk fried chicken, and bread pudding. Entrees are expected to range from $14 to $16.
“I want to give [diners] real value. I want this to be an everybody restaurant,” Sneed says.
The City Table served its last meal at the end of August, and Sneed offered the former employees jobs at the new restaurant. General Manager and Hopewell native Alisha Bennett is one of them. She says she’s excited for the space to reopen and for Sneed to be its leader.
“I think Jimmy is going to do well and bring in new concepts and expand people’s palates and bring diversity down here,” she says. “[Diners will] get an opportunity to taste something that looks amazing, tastes amazing and at a fair price. It’s a great building, and I want it to be lively again.”
Sneed knows that in order to succeed and for his vision to come to fruition, his team must be on board with his very disciplined approach.
“I told them not 20 minutes ago, ‘Are you willing to work two to three to four times harder in the kitchen?’ ” he says matter-of-factly. Sneed isn’t looking for chefs that within five years expect to be winning awards, writing a cookbook or appearing on the Food Network.
“In five years you want to be the best cook you can be, and if that’s your goal and you get there, then everything else comes.”
Sneed and his chef de cuisine, David Ventura, have known each other for over 10 years. The two have worked together at restaurants including Carena’s Jamaican Grille and his daughter Jenna Sneed’s Fresca on Addison.
During my visit with Sneed we take a trip to City Hall so he can obtain paperwork from the commissioner of revenue. He carries a two-tone canvas and leather Eddie Bauer briefcase and jokes that this is the first time he’s needed to use it in the 43 years he’s owned it.
Upon discovering that Sneed will be taking over the City Table space, the commissioner becomes animated. Thirty minutes and a handful of jokes later, Sneed is granted the final piece of paper needed to open the doors of his new restaurant.
“Oh, my, my heart, honest to God,” he says, his face lighting up like a child's.
“Really, in a sense, this is just the greatest opportunity for me, personally and professionally. More than that, there’s not another building that would have enticed me. … I think this is going to be a home run, locally and regionally, I really do.”
Farmers Market Bistro, at 9 E. Old St. in Petersburg, will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. and closed Monday.
