A 70-year-old seafood joint that recently reopened under new ownership has closed.
Byram’s Lobster House on West Broad Street has closed its doors. A sign hanging in the window says that in two weeks a new seafood restaurant will be there.
In June, Jeff Kelso and his wife, Corina, bought the restaurant, which has had multiple owners over the years. They reopened Byram’s in August.
After Kelso took over, he dropped the 90-item menu to 30 choices and added Greek and Northern Italian cuisine to the seafood and lobster spot. He also brought on a new executive chef, Danny Klubowicz.
Gus Nikiforos, the previous owner, ran Byram’s for more than 20 years before making headlines in 2010 for threatening to blow up a neighboring business. He was convicted on two property damage charges, according to a Times-Dispatch report from April.
BizSense has heard from a trusted source that the new restaurant going into the space at 3215 W. Broad St. will be called Tower Fish House.
Byram’s was such a throwback, even after it’s re-tool, that it became an anachronism. The location makes it important to be a destination, since there’s no foot meaningful foot traffic on that stretch of Broad St.
The food will have to be truly epic, or they’ll have to come up with a great (and sustainable) gimmick, for Tower Fish House to be more than a blip.
. My only excuse is not enough caffeine. Yet.
Anyone who thought this was going to work was out of their mind. There is too much competition in this neighborhood. Times have changed. Restaurants and food in this town are much more complex than they were even 10 years ago. The days of white table cloths, Sinatra and creamed spinach are dead. It may work at a nice steak house, but even those are dwindling in numbers. If this Tower Fish House doesn’t come up with a completely hip overhaul, they won’t make it either.
same ownership, or new owners?
In general, agree with Casey. The restaurant is close enough to the Fan/Museum District/Near West End that it can work. But it has to get people to get in their car.
I love the way this town brims with optimism and positive energy.
I’m optimistic and positive about a lot of the great things people do in Richmond, but a bad idea is a bad idea. There many great places that have opened recently that are amazing, Roosevelt, Stella’s, Station 2, Blue Goat, etc. All of these will do well because they have brought this town to the next level in dining. If you would prefer to dwell in the realm of mediocrity and poor business models then go for it, but I refuse to.