Alexa Schuett, owner of a number of Church Hill restaurants and cafes including Liberty Public House and Riverbend Roastery, as well as soon-to-open spots Chimbo Sandwich Shoppe and Peaberry Coffee House, is just getting off a line shift that turned into serving a full section at Liberty. Her staff needed extra support, and Schuett is not a boss who lingers in a back office—she’s an active participant.

“I’m the first to jump in if they need help,” Schuett says. “One of my favorite qualities is that [my staff] have no issues asking me for help if they need it.”

Schuett repeatedly acknowledges how cliché it sounds when she says she treats the people she works with like family, and there are many other clichés one could apply to her: she’s always ready to roll up her sleeves when it’s necessary; she’s committed to the idea of treating others the way she would want to be treated. What sets her apart is that she actually does the work to back these values up, resulting in neighborhood spots where both staff and customers are kept happy.

Raised in Annapolis, Md., Schuett initially planned to attend law school after finishing her undergraduate degree. She took a bartending job to pay the bills in the meantime and, well, that was the moment the food and beverage industry sunk its claws into her, and it hasn’t let go since.

Schuett worked at bars throughout Richmond, and at one point—along with her then-girlfriend, now-wife Brittany Young and their dogs—made her way to Tacoma, Wa., where she continued work as a bartender. Though thoughts of a “real” job still lingered, being promoted to a managerial position led to her fully embracing her career in the industry.

“Honestly, the love of it was an accident,” she says. “I realized I wasn’t looking for other work, because I loved what it meant to build a team in a restaurant.”

When she was ready to open her own restaurant, she and Young returned to Richmond and launched Liberty Public House in late 2019 (Schuett jokes that she roped Young into the business for good, calling her “the joy” that drives their ventures forward).

Less than a year later, the COVID-19 pandemic upended their entire business model. With a team of five, Schuett set up tables on the sidewalk so customers could enjoy their meals after picking them up from a takeout window. Each to-go bag came with a few freshly baked cookies as a token of appreciation for each customer’s support. Despite the necessary distance, Schuett found that they were still able to maintain a sense of connection with regulars, even without the usual bartender therapy sessions.

“I knew everyone and their dog’s name,” she says. “We were all really committed to not losing the experience and camaraderie of being at a bar just because we couldn’t be inside the restaurant.”

Once Liberty was up and running, Schuett expanded her portfolio with Riverbend, the Broad Street coffee shop that many laptop-shackled workers call their second home. Like her entry into the food and beverage business, Schuett’s foray into coffee was somewhat accidental. She already knew Riverbend’s previous owners, and she took them up on the offer to buy the business when they decided to leave the coffee world behind.

Today, the staff at Riverbend is just as much a draw as the coffee—everyone who has been more than twice will know Felicia and Han, two omnipresent figures behind the counter who will memorize your face, order and name if given the opportunity. Customer enthusiasm for Riverbend’s atmosphere sparked demand for another coffee shop, leading Schuett to sign a lease for Peaberry Coffee House, which will open later this year.

The theme of Schuett’s responsive approach to the needs of customers, staff and the community also bleeds into the forthcoming Chimbo Sandwich Shoppe, going into the recently shuttered 8 1/2 Church Hill.

Set to provide the neighborhood with a much-needed new lunch option in the area, Schuett co-owns the business with Austin Curtis, a long time kitchen manager at Liberty. Curtis had been considering moving on from the restaurant industry entirely, but the chance to take the lead on an entirely new project gave him the growth opportunity he needed to stay.

Schuett provides the kind of support that should be standard but often isn’t in the industry: Riverbend employees make a minimum of $20 an hour, because Schuett believes anything less is no longer a livable wage. Recently, she opened up 401(k) plans that any of her full time employees can opt into.

Through her businesses, she supports a range of causes, including an annual Cinco de Mayo taco menu that donates $2 per taco to lawyers helping migrants from Mexico navigate the United States legal system. Liberty, recognized as one of the city’s best queer bars, also regularly contributes to initiatives benefiting the LGBTQIA community.

“I’m not here to make a million dollars,” she says. “I’m here to encourage Church Hill to grow…[and] we feel firmly that the people we choose to help deserve a place in this world.”

Schuett hopes her work will remain a force for good in Church Hill and is optimistic that Richmond will continue to build its reputation as a small but mighty culinary city (she also hopes the local government will find a way to redirect meal and revenue taxes back to small businesses). In terms of her own continued success, she feels she’s right where she’s supposed to be.

“I’ve already exceeded my life goals,” she says. “I’ve got a great wife and a beautiful kid and four businesses that are ideally going to thrive; I don’t really have anything else to ask for.”