Whisk bakery owner reopening Blue Heron restaurant at Charles City marina

The Blue Heron restaurant is planing to reopen at River’s Rest Marina & Resort after it closed late last year. (Courtesy River’s Rest)

A riverfront restaurant in Charles City will get a fresh start under a new operator later this month.

The Blue Heron restaurant at River’s Rest Marina and Resort is slated to reopen on Memorial Day weekend with Billy Bryan at the helm.

Bryan, owner of Richmond-based bakery Whisk, said he wants his version of Blue Heron to appeal to both Charles City residents as well as boaters at River’s Rest, which is at 9100 Wilcox Neck Road along the Chickahominy River.

“It’s going to be a very approachable concept that serves both the leisure crowd that will come through on their boats, but also accessible for the local residents of the county,” Bryan said.

The menu is planned to feature southern fare, seafood, sandwiches, pizza and a full bar. Bryan said his menu would pay homage to some of the old favorites at the decades-old restaurant.

“We’ll have a really good, handmade burger. We’ll have some sandwiches, we’ll have some comfort foods like fried chicken and a lot of sides that are made from scratch,” he said.

The restaurant plans to be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week and serve breakfast on the weekends. Bryan said he plans to hold events at the restaurant like Texas Hold ‘em nights, musical performances and karaoke.

As part of the reopening, Blue Heron’s kitchen was revamped, and a new HVAC system, roof replacement and cosmetic upgrades were made. Bryan declined to comment on the costs of the project but said it was a “significant investment,” that he and the resort contributed toward. Rivers Rest is owned by National Land Lease Capital, a subsidiary of Richmond-based 1850 Investments.

Bryan was already familiar with Blue Heron as a long-time customer. His sister and her family have lived in Charles City for more than 20 years, and he for a time also lived nearby.

“I had lived on the river there, two doors down from the Blue Heron, and used to dine there several times a week. The Blue Heron has been a constant in mine and my family’s life for 20-plus years. Lots of celebrations there, I’ve had a number of first dates there,” he said.

Whisk owner Billy Bryan recently added the Blue Heron in Charles City to his portfolio, and looks to reopen the riverfront restaurant in late May. (BizSense file)

Bryan said he learned that River’s Rest was seeking a new operator for the Blue Heron shortly after it closed in the fall. He takes over the eatery from restaurant group Grub LLC, which runs The Trojan Grill in New Kent.

In addition to his personal connection to the restaurant, Bryan said he was drawn in by the direction the property has taken after its purchase several years ago by 1850 Investments, which is led by Yogi Singh.

“I like the vision he had for the entire resort and it felt like a full-circle moment coming there,” Bryan said. “I wasn’t looking for it and it kind of fell into my lap, and I gave it a lot of thought over a couple weeks.”

Bryan is leasing the restaurant building and as part of the deal will also run the marina’s store stocked with fuel and fishing supplies, which he noted was an odd pairing with his gig selling French pastries at Whisk.

“I never thought I’d sell croissants and fishing worms at the same time,” he said, adding that he’ll continue to run Whisk, which is located in Shockoe Bottom and also operates a Whisk cafe that recently opened in the Library of Virginia.

Taylor Carwile

The restaurant is a core feature of Rivers Rest’s amenities, so the ownership group was eager to find a new tenant who fit their vision and found that in Bryan, said Taylor Carwile of 1850 Investments.

“We really wanted to make sure we found the right fit, someone with a creative menu with a recognition toward the traditions of the area,” he said.

Carwile said the resort hopes to see the seasonally open restaurant transition to year-round operation. The resort has 126 seasonal RV campsites, 68 boat slips and a 21-room inn as well as a pool, dog park and other amenities.

The 1850 Investments group, where Singh, Stewart Garland and Pushkal Basavaraj are managing partners, opened River’s Rest in 2022 after acquiring and revamping the old Blue Heron Marina. The company owns other RV resorts elsewhere in Virginia, as well as in Texas and Massachusetts. It also owns a sizable cold storage operation, AgCold, in Suffolk.

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