UPDATE: Bonvenu closes, The Republic in limbo, and Garnett’s new special sandwiches

While one restaurant announces its closed, another tries to open after being delayed, and a look at Garnett’s tasty homage to VCU basketball players.

March 7, 2013; 8:20 AM • by RVANews staff

Update #1 — March 7, 2013; 2:26 PM

From The Republic’s twitter this afternoon:

Hallelujah! We’re opening TODAY at 3pm! Come celebrate with us!! #rva #eatrva #eatlocal instagr.am/p/WkVZcrp3gW/

— The Republic R&B (@therepublicrva) March 7, 2013

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Original — March 07, 2013

According to its Facebook page, Bonvenu is closed. The Carytown restaurant opened in 2010 and served New American fare. Bonvenu was owned by sisters, Susan Doyle and Anne Stewart, who were first-time restaurant owners.

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Also in closing news, we previously reported that The Republic had closed its doors last week and was hoping to reopen as soon as possible. Well a week (and then some) has passed and they’re still closed. A recent tweet from them said they’d hope to open yesterday for service. We’ll keep you posted on their progress.

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This Saturday at 7:00 PM, Capital Ale House is hosting a very cool beer event. Brewbies is a panel discussion in which leading women of the beer industry gather to talk about their experiences and all things beer. The event will benefit the Pink Boots Society, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering female beer professionals. The lineup of speakers is impressive (to say the least) and we recently talked to a few of the women involved:

Jennifer Yuengling • Plant Coordinator, D. G. Yuengling & Sons
Kristi Mathews Griner • Director of Brewing Operations, Capitol City Brewing Co.
Lee John • Co-owner and Brewmaster, Apocalypse Ale Works
Audra Gaiziunas • Chief Financial Officer, Mother Earth Brewing Co.
Mary Wolf • Co-owner, Wild Wolf Brewing Co.

Tickets are just $15 per person and can be purchased online, or at the downtown Capital Ale House location.

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We all know that Garnett’s Cafe has some of the best sandwiches in town. Owner Kendra Feather has made the offerings that much better with the “senior sandwiches,” which highlight the personalities of some of our VCU basketball players. The sandwiches are available now through April. Garnett’s is located at 2001 Park Avenue at the corner of Park and Meadow in the Fan.

Here are the sandwiches:

The #30 (straight-up amazing): cold-sliced chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise on ciabatta roll
The #10 (one-of-a-kind): bacon, hard boiled egg, green tomato relish, lettuce, and avocado on toasted wheat
The #34 (crowd favorite): roast beef, cheddar, chow-chow, and Sriracha mayo, on toasted rye

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Finally, Richmond is such a robust dining town, it can be hard keeping up with all of its new restaurants. We’ve done the work for you by creating an ever-growing list of this year’s openings. Pro-tip: print it out and keep it on your fridge for quick reference, and remember to check back monthly for updates.