Food History of Richmond

Key eras

1. 1737 origins of the 17th Street Market

   Trade at the corner of 17th and Main began informally around 1737, with proximity to ships on the James River and the road between Richmond and Williamsburg drawing producers. The market was formally declared a public market in 1779 when the Virginia General Assembly moved to Richmond.

2. 1779 Smithfield ham and the colonial cured-meat trade

   Captain Mallory Todd of Smithfield, Virginia (about 70 miles east of Richmond) recorded the first known commercial export of cured Smithfield ham in 1779. The Virginia General Assembly later codified the Smithfield ham name in a 1926 statute restricting genuine Smithfield hams to those cured, smoked and processed within the town limits.

3. 1895 Jefferson Hotel and the rise of Richmond fine dining

   The Jefferson Hotel opened in 1895. Its dining room was later named Lemaire for Etienne Lemaire, who served as Thomas Jefferson's maitre d' at Monticello and the White House. The restaurant carried Virginia fine-dining traditions of country ham, she-crab soup and game cookery into the modern era.

   Taste it todayCountry hamShe-crab soupLemaire

4. 1924 Sally Bell's Kitchen opens

   Sarah Cabell Jones and Elizabeth Lee Milton opened Sarah Lee Kitchen in Richmond in 1924, renaming it Sally Bell's to avoid confusion with the national brand. The box-lunch tradition, with deviled eggs, cheese wafers and cupcakes, has continued without interruption for over a hundred years.

   Taste it todayThe NationalSally Bell's Kitchen

5. 2012 Sub Rosa Bakery and the artisan turn

   Evrim and Evin Dogu opened Sub Rosa Bakery on North 25th Street in Church Hill in 2012, baking naturally-leavened breads with stone-ground flour (originally in a wood-fired oven; replaced with an electric oven after a November 2024 fire). Multiple James Beard semifinalist nominations followed across 2017 to 2020.

   Taste it todaySub Rosa Bakery

Immigrant influences

African American

Edna Lewis (born in Freetown, Virginia, west of Richmond) codified Southern cuisine for the modern era.

Italian

Italian families like the Vasaios (Mamma Zu, Edo's Squid, Dinamo) and the operators behind Mary Angela's Pizzeria have anchored Richmond's Italian dining since the mid-twentieth century.

Taste it todayEdo's SquidDinamoMary Angela's Pizzeria

Jewish

Richmond's Jewish community traces back to Beth Ahabah Synagogue (1789). Perly's deli on Grace continues the city's Jewish food tradition with house-cured pastrami, matzo ball soup and rye bread.

Greek

Greek immigrant families anchor the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral and run Joe's Inn in the Fan since 1952. The annual Richmond Greek Festival each May draws thousands to the cathedral grounds.

Taste it todayRichmond Greek Festival

Lebanese

Lebanese Maronite Christians built St Anthony Church in Henrico in the 1980s. The Lebanese Food Festival each fall (40-plus years) is one of the largest Middle Eastern cultural events in central Virginia.

Signature innovations

• 1737, trading begins informally at 17th and Main; formal public market declared 1779
• 1779, first known commercial export of Smithfield ham (Virginia statute codifying the name followed in 1926)
• 1895, Jefferson Hotel opens with the Lemaire dining room
  Taste it todayLemaire
• 1924, Sally Bell's Kitchen opens its box-lunch operation
  Taste it todaySally Bell's Kitchen
• 2012, Sub Rosa Bakery opens, anchoring the city's artisan turn
  Taste it todaySub Rosa Bakery
• 2026, Leah Branch of The Roosevelt named James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic semifinalist
  Taste it todayThe Roosevelt