Hot and new can steal the spotlight, but what about longstanding local favorites? Each month, we’ll visit a Richmond-area restaurant that has been in business 15 years or longer.
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A family-style meal at Tanglewood Ordinary in Goochland County
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Owners Jim and Anne Hardwick
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Inside Tanglewood Ordinary
For a time-traveling dining experience, visit Tanglewood Ordinary, located on River Road about 25 miles outside of Richmond. Historically, an “ordinary” served as an inn or tavern, providing lodging and home-cooked meals. Today, Tanglewood Ordinary offers generous portions, gracious service and destination dining.
The building opened in 1928 as the Tanglewood Service Station, later becoming a restaurant and a dance hall with a wild reputation during the 1940s and ’50s. In the early 1980s, Jimmy Gottwald restored it as The Tanglewood Tavern, before longtime customers Anne and Jim Hardwick assumed ownership in 1986.
The Hardwicks drew inspiration from longstanding family-style restaurants including The Homeplace in Catawba, north of Roanoke, and the Dan’l Boone Inn in North Carolina. The proprietors have even traded recipes. “I said to [Homeplace owner] Millie Wingate, ‘I’m not really happy with how our biscuits are turning out; can I have your recipe?’” Anne recalls. “She said, ‘Sure,’ and took me straight to her cookbook.’” Now, Tanglewood’s tender, toasty biscuits are made several times a day to keep up with demand.
Chef Patrick Willis of Lemaire restaurant in Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel recalls his time at Tanglewood Ordinary, where Anne taught him how to make those same beloved biscuits. “[The Hardwicks] were great mentors who focused on training and collaboration,” he says. “These lessons have stayed with me as I lead my own kitchen.”
Gingham tablecloths, sturdy stoneware and charming bric-a-brac create a cozy, nostalgic atmosphere at the eatery. Kitchen Manager James Breeden oversees a menu of succulent fried chicken, green beans with pork, buttery mashed potatoes, collard greens and desserts, including Sly Fox pie, with recipes sourced from church cookbooks and friends. General Manager Jenifer Ellett has been with the restaurant for more than 15 years. “She really knows how to treat people like family,” Jim says.
For decades, Tanglewood Ordinary has remained a bastion of Southern comfort, drawing guests from near and far with its hospitality, history and country cooking.
