RICHMOND, Va. -- From James Beard Award nominations to laudatory write-ups in national media like Southern Livingand Bon Appetit,Lee Gregory has established himself on the Mount Rushmore of Richmond's decade-long restaurant renaissance.
Right now, Gregory is in the fight of his professional life as he works to keep his two Richmond restaurants, Alewife and Southbound, open for take-out while the COVID-19 pandemic has closed dining rooms across the country.
Weeks before coronavirus wreaked havoc on the restaurant industry, Gregory sat down with Scott and Robey to discuss his rise in Richmond restaurants, his philosophy as a chef/restaurateur, and why it's so dang hard to run a restaurant -- even on the good days.
We hope this slice of life before the virus closed many Richmond restaurants provides a brief respite from current events.
Of course, we cannot ignore what's happening in our community right now. That's why we invited Jack Berry, President at Richmond Region Tourism, to the podcast.
Berry explains what his office is doing to help support the restaurant industry and how his planning ahead for what will undoubtedly be an unusual summer travel season.
Since Scott and Robey are socially distancing, most of this podcast was recorded via Zoom. The Lee Gregory interview was conducted in January 2020.