Editor's note: This article went to press before Gov. Ralph Northam's stay-at-home order and other social distancing measures associated with the coronavirus pandemic went into effect. As of late March, Can Can Brasserie has temporarily closed its doors due to COVID-19 safety concerns. Follow the restaurant on Facebook or Instagram for updates.
Seed-crusted Salmon at Can Can Brasserie
There aren’t many quiet moments at Can Can Brasserie.
The day begins at 7 a.m. for breakfast and coffee, and it continues until 11 p.m. (later on Friday and Saturday nights) so locals and visitors alike can come in at virtually any time for a celebratory meal or a casual drink at the bar.
Inside, the high ceilings and tile floors do little to muffle the sounds of conversation or the quick steps of servers delivering house-made bread and refilling glasses. But the hustle and flow of a busy neighborhood eatery was always the goal, says founder and owner Chris Ripp, who notes that Can Can was envisioned when there were more than a few empty storefronts in Carytown.
“We thought, ‘What Carytown needs is energy,’ ” Ripp says. “There were already several chef-driven restaurants, so we didn’t want to do that. We wanted to be broadly appealing, big and fun … to feed Carytown and feed off of Carytown.”
The journey began on Jan. 17, 2005, when Can Can Brasserie opened its doors for the first time.
In the Beginning
Ripp learned the restaurant business from his father, Richard, who trained at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Before his death in 2019, the elder Ripp owned and operated numerous restaurants, including Arby’s locations in the metro area, under the umbrella of The Restaurant Co., which he founded in 1967. Ripp’s late brother, Michael, was also a restaurateur, previously owning Havana ’59, City Bar, and O’Brienstein’s Pub & Delicatessen before opening the first Burger Bach with his wife, Angela Whitley, in Carytown.
Growing up in the Museum District, just three blocks away from Carytown, Chris Ripp had a “love affair” with the neighborhood from a young age. “It was where I rode my bike, where I went to shops,” he says. After his own education at CIA and time spent working at restaurants in San Francisco, Paris and New York, Ripp wanted to return to Richmond, originally with plans to open an Italian restaurant. His search for the perfect location ended when a real estate agent clued him in to the 7,500-square-foot corner spot at the east end of Cary Court, the former Tiffanys Bridal, which had been vacant for more than a year. Drawn to the “big, beautiful” windows that front Cary Street, Ripp was intrigued, and he reworked the concept with his wife, Kathy Bailey. An artist and a graphic designer, Bailey made significant contributions to the look and feel of the restaurant, Ripp says.
“We thought, ‘How can you have a ‘mile of style’ and not have a place you could drift in and have a glass of wine?’ ” he asks. “We wanted to have the biggest bar, the most inviting bar, to re-create our experience [from New York and Paris] of going shopping and having a place to find food and beverages.”
Something for Everyone
The restaurant’s interior, designed to evoke Paris in the early 1900s, features dark wood paneling, red leather banquettes, massive urns spouting fresh flowers and metal lightbulb swags. Support columns have stained glass panels lit from within, and open metal shelving holding glassware serves a dual purpose: storage and easy access. A bread station in the center of the main dining room stores full loaves awaiting the knife. Large mirrors reflect the light that streams in from windows on two walls.
“The decor and ambiance really do transport you to Paris,” says Paul Kincaid IV, Can Can’s general manager. “We have the lights, the atmosphere, the feel of a big-city restaurant. We aim for a total sensory experience.”
In the past, visitors have noted Can Can’s similarities in design to the celebrated Manhattan restaurant Balthazar, but Ripp says brasseries around the world share many common elements that make them timeless. “We appreciate the comparisons and won’t deny the similarities because it was the only brasserie most people had seen when we opened,” Ripp says. “We don’t hear that much anymore since Le Diplomate opened in D.C.”
And then there’s the food.
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Can Can's General Manager Paul Kincaid IV (left) and Executive Chef John Kincaid
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Can Can’s interior design, including its lighting, transports guests to early 1900s Paris.
“Everyone comes in here and wants French food — you have to satisfy those expectations,” says John Kincaid — Paul’s brother — who took over as executive chef in January after Ripp decided to work the day shift.
The menu, while consistent in offering staples such as onion soup, served with cheese dripping over the sides of its tureen, and frites — French fries — crisp and standing to attention in paper-cone-lined metal flutes, changes regularly. A different region of France is featured monthly, which gives the kitchen a chance to introduce “hyper-seasonal” dishes with ingredients that are available for only short periods of time.
“There are so many chefs doing inventive, great things around the city, it pushes you to want to put something out that looks good and tastes good,” chef Kincaid says. “We want to give people an experience, so they become regulars, to come back for more than special occasions, to keep things fresh and fun.”
Experiments can be successful … or not. In December 2018, Ripp added goulash to the menu. The first night, the kitchen prepped for 30 orders; they were gone in 30 minutes. Early this year, a veal pot au feu was attracting less attention from diners, even though the staff — which eats together every day — enjoyed it.
“You think you know the market, you think you know people, but it’s about experimenting and exploring,” Ripp says, noting that he didn’t put escargot on the menu until servers told him, repeatedly, that customers were asking for them.
“OK, you want snails, I can do snails,” he says. “So we worked to create a unique dish, and it was a runaway success.”
Popular menu items include frites, onion soup and fresh baked bread.
The Philosophy
From the outset, Ripp wanted to create a restaurant that was inviting. That atmosphere comes from within, he says.
“The neighborhood doesn’t want a chain [restaurant] but wants a place that is comfortable and well run, which you get with chains,” he says.
Can Can’s regulars know about the annual Bastille Day celebration that culminates with cancan dancers atop the bar, kicking high with petticoats on full display. Paul Kincaid tells of a group of friends who gather every year to watch the annual Richmond Zombie Walk via the front windows — and reserve the tables at the end of the prior year’s walk.
“I kind of feel sorry for the people who think they’re doing their due diligence by calling a month out for one of those tables,” he laughs. “They’re booked.”
For those who want food adventures, monthly wine dinners give Chef Kincaid a chance to introduce gastronomic delights from different cultures — including Spain, Italy and Vietnam — which are then paired with appropriate wines.
Both Kincaids agree that for the restaurant to work, the food and the atmosphere have to be collaborative. Each came to Can Can with their own restaurant experiences but started at the bottom — Paul as a lunch table runner, John as a line cook — as all staff do. Ripp learned the same way at his father’s restaurants.
“You want to understand the challenges of every station,” Ripp says. “The [staff] who really get you stick with you and understand the priorities, the culture. The more they believe, then they’ll put in the time.”
Paul Kincaid says training and ongoing dialogue is essential.
“A restaurant is a simple thing, but a lot of work goes into it,” he says. “It’s really important to let everybody know what we expect for the day, because we treat every day as something new; we’re not just phoning it in on a Tuesday.”
John Kincaid adds: “[Paul and I] came in and wanted to learn the Can Can way, and now we’re teaching it.” He shared the story of a new sous chef, someone who had started at Can Can three years ago as a dishwasher and moved down the line. “He just kept growing and doing it,” John Kincaid says. “I loved when I was able to offer him a sous position.”
Ripp says the training is also practical.
“You’re growing your team every day because of the transition within the industry,” he says. “You’re always hiring your replacement, your next chef.”
The goal is to satisfy the customer.
“We want people who want an upscale experience to feel like they’re getting one, and we want our regulars to feel comfortable; that’s where the hospitality comes in,” Paul Kincaid says. “With our corner spot, we are so visible, we really anchor the neighborhood. That’s something we all take pride in.”
“We’re not perfect,” Ripp says, “but we sure work on it every day.”
