Continental opens on Grove, Carytown Cupcakes looks to expand, and a taste of Mint is in the air

If a new and improved Phil’s Continental Lounge just wasn’t “continental” enough, then perhaps the new Continental Westhampton will satiate your desire, the owner of Julep’s prepares to give Richmond a hint of mint, and a new restaurant called Lunch is now open.

March 8, 2012; 9:46 AM • by RVANews staff

It’s official, The Continental Westhampton is open! Remember last summer when Phil’s Continental Lounge was up for sale? The Giavos family, the famous Richmond restaurant powerhouse family (Sidewalk Cafe, Kitchen 64, 3 Monkey’s, and Stella’s) purchased the place. The first thought I’m sure you have is: what’s the MENU like!? Well, you can see the menu here (pdf). The second thought you probably have is, isn’t it weird that they named the old Phil’s Continental Lounge (which is now just a single block up Grove Avenue) The Continental? In an interview with Richmond.com, Johnny Giavos explains that when they purchased the space, Phil’s was planning on moving to Innsbrook. By the time Phil’s owners changed their minds, it was too late for Giavos to change the name. The new Giavos restaurant is intended to be a homage to Phil’s, which you can easily see by the pictures hung on its walls. The Continental has been hosting soft openings this week, and so far the Internet chatter has been really positive. Mark this one on your “new restaurants to try list.”

In other restaurant opening news, Mint New Casual Cuisine announced on their Facebook page that the restaurant will be open for business on March 19th. Amy Cabaniss, owner of Julep’s, purchased the old Davis and Main building back in July of 2011 to turn into a new restaurant and now the opening is just ten days away! Mark your calendars, please.

According to West of the Boulevard News, Carytown Cupcakes is moving into a bigger space. Dawn Schick and her husband, Albert, have owned the Carytown Cupcakes storefront on Colonial Avenue for two and a half years, and they’re ready for a more visible location. They are also ready for a kitchen within the store to end the mile and a half drive they take every day to carefully transport those delicious treats from the Grace Manor Inn, which they own. They are taking over the old EmbroidMe store at 3111 West Cary Street. Not only will they have a more visible presence in Carytown–and a kitchen to bake in–but they will also have more seating for customers. They are looking forward to a spring opening.

A few weeks back, we chatted about Rick Lyons (formerly of Bandtio’s and The Republic) opening a new restaurant in Scott’s Addition called Lunch. It’s now up and running serving delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. The menu is up on their site which you can peek at here (pdf), and you can also check their Facebook page for day to day happenings. Lunch is located at 1213 Summit Avenue.

photo by Fionnuala Bradley