Food News: Armenian Food Festival, The Betty on Davis, and the end of Buddy’s

This week: Buddy’s announces a closing date after a 38-year run, The Betty on Davis opens, Mekong wins best beer bar again, and the Armenian Food Festival gets underway today. All this and more!

September 18, 2014; 11:53 AM • by Trevor Dickerson

January will mark the end of longtime Fan neighborhood bar and grill Buddy’s Place, a Robinson Street institution that’s stood the test of time. And this time, it looks like it’s for real. You might remember the ‘Save Buddy’s’ Facebook campaign that successfully bought the bar three more years on its lease. Well, those three years are just about up, and Buddy’s is set to close after 38 years in business. Landlord Charlie Diradour tells Richmond.com he’s not sure what he’d like to see go in the space yet, but Style Weekly’s new Food Editor (congrats!) Brandon Fox has some colorful ideas.

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Elsewhere in The Fan, The Betty on Davis opened this week in the former Avenue 805 space on, well, Davis Avenue, naturally. Owners Luray and Cole Bucholtz and David Al-Attiyah met while working at various other restaurants and bars around town. Together with their executive chef Trevor Knotts, formerly of Pomegranate, The Daily Kitchen and Bar, and Pescasdo’s China Street, they hope to create a relaxed and welcoming neighborhood bar with affordable options and lots of daily specials. And no, the spot wasn’t named for Bette Davis. But Richmond.com has more on that.

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Down the road, Heritage and Ardent Craft Ales are teaming up for a guest chef beer dinner on September 29th, and the lineup looks pretty fantastic. Dylan Fuiltneer, executive chef at Rappahannock; Mel Oza, executive chef and co-owner of Curry Craft; and Dale Reitzer, executive chef and co-owner of Acacia Mid-town will join Heritage chef Joe Sparatta for a five course pairing with the Scott’s Addition brewery.

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The Armenian Food Festival is back this weekend for its 56th year at St. James Armenian Church on Pepper Avenue. Expect to find a generous selection of traditional Armenian offerings like cheese and spinach beoregs (pies made with philo dough), chicken and pork kebobs, hye burgers (ground lamb and sirloin with Armenian spices), and more pastries than you can wrap your head around. There’s also a full roster of live music and traditional dancing on the festival stage, too. The Armenian Food Festival runs today through Sunday at 834 Pepper Avenue.

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One of the area’s leading online grocery stores is beefing up its operations. Governor Terry McAuliffe and Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones made a joint announcement Tuesday morning that Relay Foods plans to invest over $710,000 in their distribution facility in Scott’s Addition, creating 75 new jobs in the area. The company currently sources its inventory from over 200 local farmers and other providers.

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Folks in the Bon Air area will soon have a new coffee and lunch option. Perk! Coffee + Lunchbox will open soon in the former Bon Früyo frozen yogurt location in the Shops at Bon Air. The shopping center is also home to Joe’s Inn and the Buford Road Pharmacy. Details are scant at this point, but the shop is shooting for a December opening.

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We told you a few weeks ago about a fire at the Little House Green Grocer and that they’d soon reopen. Well, it turns out the damage is more extensive than originally thought. “We will need to rebuild the electrical system, replace the HVAC, repair our roof and ceiling, rebuild our back room, replace lost inventory, and clean the soot out of every nook and cranny of the entire store,” the owners posted on Facebook, along with photos of the damage. The good news is there are three ways you can help if you’re so inclined, including a GoFundMe campaign which aims to raise $5,000 to get Little House back in business.

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One of the places you can donate to Little House, in fact, is at the ‘Pizza 2000’ popup this weekend at Sub Rosa Bakery in Church Hill (which ironically suffered a fire of its own). The first in a what will reportedly be a series of events put on by the bakery’s owners takes place this Sunday from 5:00 to 10:00 PM and features pizza made from freshly stone-milled flour sourced from local wheat. Seating is limited and take-out is available. Richmond.com has the full scoop.

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Six local Carytown restaurants have teamed up for a ‘Taste of Carytown,’ a slightly nuanced, neighborhood-level version of Restaurant Week, if you will. Amour Wine Bistro, Mezzanine, Nacho Mama’s, Water Coastal Kitchen, Curry Craft, and Pomegranate are offering prix fixe menus, each with a selection of appetizer, main course, and dessert or cocktail options. Best of all, it all benefits the Richmond Public Schools Education Foundation. Taste of Carytown runs through Saturday night.

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In other Carytown news, an old school soda pop and candy store is taking over the space formerly occupied by women’s clothing store Ciao. Rocket Fizz, a franchise specializing in all things sugary and nostalgic, promises more than 2,000 retro candies and 500 glass bottled sodas (ranch, bacon, and coffee are among the more intriguing flavors). Sounds like a pretty sweet addition to the Mile of Style.

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It’s been a pretty great month for An Bui. The local beer mogul and restauranteur recently took over Commercial Taphouse in the Fan and opened The Answer Brewpub. And just this week, his original claim to fame, Mekong, added another trophy to its (probably overflowing) display case. The restaurant was bestowed with the honor of ‘Great American Beer Bar’ by CraftBeer.com this week for the third year in a row. Cheers, An!

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After crafting legalized moonshine in the Commonwealth, Belle Isle Craft Spirits is setting out to help legalize something bigger in Virginia-gay marriage. The Belle Isle team will be participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s third annual ‘Chefs for Equality’ event next Tuesday night at the Ritz Carlton in D.C. Belle Isle will offer up their premium moonshine to guests along with a specialty crafted cocktail by T. Leggett from The Roosevelt. Belle Isle is one of a handful of Virginia hospitality vendors who will showcase their wares at the event. Tickets are available for purchase online.

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Finally, what would a week in Richmond be without a beer-focused event? The St. Benedict Oktoberfest begins Friday, September 19th at 4:00 PM and runs through Sunday, September 21st. They’ve got several dozen beers on tap and pretzels as big as your face.

Photo: The Betty on Davis Facebook page