A drive by Bogart's

I stopped by Bogart’s new location at Cary & Granby St. today to see how the construction was looking. The signature yellow sign was hanging on the side of the building for all Cary St. traffic to see. Looking through the large front windows revealed a near-ready restaurant and beautiful bar. The location is a […]

December 30, 2008; 5:52 PM • by Dean Christesen

The location is a bit different than its old home on Lombardy between Hanover and Grove. Instead of being surrounded by houses and apartment buildings inhabited mostly by twenty-somethings, Bogart’s is now at a more commercial area of the Fan. At Cary & Granby, the new slick black building sits across the street from a mechanic’s garage with an eccentric facade and the Social Security Administration’s block-long building. It is one block from the BP gas station at the intersection of Cary & Meadow. In 2006, Richmond.com reported, “Currently, the northeast corner of West Cary and Meadow is home to a gas station and coin laundry and has been known over the years by many in the neighborhood to be an eyesore and a high crime area.” Along with the dramatic changes that the Lofts at Cary Place have brought to the block, Urban Richmond said in July 2007 that “aesthetic improvements are planned for the BP at Cary & Meadow, including fences, and stucco.” That corner is the West Cary Street Planning Committee’s “next priority,” which we can hope includes controlling crime and not just making a gas station look beautiful.

Bogart’s Nick Hanson updated the restaurant’s Facebook group on December 19 on its status, saying, “All of our major construction is complete and we are down to aesthetics. The bar is built, stained and ready. The kitchen is operational. The toilets flush.” With a target opening date of “no later than” January 20th, it seems our wait is just about over. (Back in August, Hanson commented that he was hoping to open in September) As for the Lombardy location, which was acquired by Steve and Lainie Gratz in April, there has been little word on the status of the renovation, which was originally expected to be completed in April 2009.