Style Weekly

The Restaurant Mafia

by Carrie Nieman
July 16, 2003

Each summer when the weather heats up and you just don’t feel like turning on that stove, Style looks at local restaurants and dutifully gives you an excuse to eat out. We traditionally feature our restaurant critics’ picks of their favorite spots, meals and chefs (which you can find on page 63), but this year we decided to go beyond the plates to the chefs, owners and chef/owners who wow our palates. What we’ve found is a spider web of family and business ties. Mothers and sons, seasoned chefs and longtime partners. Generations passing down and spinning off. An intriguing variety of food connections. We didn’t find any horse heads or concrete shoes. But we did discover a sort of restaurant Mafia. A handful of families, friends and business partners can be linked to an astonishing number of Richmond restaurants. Some of them grew up in the restaurant business, some moved up the ranks, and others started from scratch. But however they started, they have a profound, concentrated influence on the way Richmond eats. If you pay attention, you’ll notice the trends that have resulted — a cross-pollination of Greek and Italian food (what’s with the feta on pasta?) or the abundance of Low Country menu items. Black-and-white photographs of historic Richmond. Gorgonzola everywhere. We started talking with restaurateurs who owned at least two successful restaurants and worked our way up. With such ruling families as the Cabanisses, the Garcias, the Ripps and the Giavoses. And with such up-and-comers as Rick Lyons, Michelle Williams and Jared Golden. So grab a napkin, watch your back and see who’s behind what you eat. It’s an offer you can’t refuse.