As of press time, Bel Rio, the new restaurant/music lounge occupying the old Saxx Jazz Lounge spot in Belmont, is set to open. Ever since the ABC liquor license application, which noted the name of the new place and its three owners—(1) Dave Simpson, owner of C&O and uncle to Local owner, Adam Frazier, (2) Gareth Weldon and (3) Jim Baldi—was posted on the window a few weeks ago, Restaurantarama has been bombarded with requests for the scoop. Unfortunately, Messrs. Simpson, Weldon and Baldi proved elusive for some time. We were finally able to get the details from the triad last week.
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Dave Simpson, right, pictured here with fellow owners Gareth Weldon, left, and Jim Baldi says that Bel Rio will expand the music tradition of its predecessor, Saxx Jazz Lounge, by featuring all genres of local talent. |
“We’re ready to talk!” Simpson told us, as Restaurantarama sat down amongst the restaurant renovation-in-progress and asked him and his partners some questions while a man with a very loud drill tried his best to thwart our efforts at clarity. What we heard above the drilling, baby, drilling was that the place will offer an extensive wine and spirits list and a variety of smallish plates, which despite the Spanish-sounding restaurant name, will not necessary be Spanish in style of cuisine. “Our theme is conviviality,” says Simpson, who tells us the name is a play off of “Belmont” and the fact that he and his partners are a trio who hatched their plan over weekly “meetings” during the Tuesday night Rick Olivarez gyspy jazz trio concerts at C&O.
As you might expect, music will be a primary focus of Bel Rio. Simpson says the lounge will feature all genres of local talent four or five nights a week in the earlier part of the night—tunes will start around 9pm-ish with general operating hours being 5pm-2am, seven days a week.
The Bel Rio music scene might scare you a bit if you ever frequented Saxx, the acoustics of which were infamously terrible. Weldon says they’ve addressed this issue with the addition of a music-studio-favored foam product called Oralex on the ceiling. Simpson tells us the small stage area will also get a new dose of drama in the form of a velvet curtain. We hope that turns out more “Ed Sullivan” than “Muppet Show.”
There is much pent up interest in this place, what with its prime location in the food heart of Belmont and the big names behind it. Even before an opening date was announced, a meal for 10 auctioned at the Live Arts Gala two weekends ago went for $1,100! Don’t be put off by that amount, however. Baldi says prices for menu items will be on the reasonable side of things. “What the community needs right now is an affordable place where they don’t have to drop a lot of cash.” Amen to that.
The New Deal
Speaking of affordability in these depressing economic times, Barry Wood, the new owner of The New Deli (which reopened November 5), tells us he’s not particularly nervous about starting a new business in this rough climate. “People may not have as much in their wallets, but they also don’t have any more time.” We agree—people always want convenient food options, and lately, they want ones that don’t involve golden arches or other chain gangs. The New Deli, which now has “and Grill” in its name, is one of the few independent non-chain/non-franchise food stops along the Route 29 corridor. Charlottesville native Wood is the fourth owner of the Deli, which local entrepreneur and UVA grad Kenneth Clarry opened in 1984 (Clarry died in a self-piloted plane crash in 2002). Wood has given this old institution a new lease on life, with a renovated interior and an expanded menu that includes Boar’s Head brand meats and cheeses, the addition of a breakfast menu and adorable new names for old Deli favorites: There’s a Rye-Vanna Hot Pastrami, a Rio Road Reuben and a Meadowcreek Meatball Sub among the cuties.
