To the Seas

Celebrated Richmond restaurateurs open two new seafood-centric spots, Acacia midtown and Odyssey, in the West End.

The best, most inventive, impossible-to-get reservation meals are often served in the heart of a city. Or at least within its downtown arteries.

That’s why it’s almost always a delightful surprise to find award-winning, beloved chefs whipping up renowned fare away from downtown.

We chatted with Acacia midtown owners, Aline and Dale Reitzer, and Oydssey co-owner and executive chef, Bobo Catoe, about their culinary adventures out of downtown—and into the wild world of parking lots.

Acacia midtown: A nice place to be

It’s 5:02 p.m. on a brisk Wednesday in spring and the first bar walk-ins have already placed their drink orders, two Basil Smashes. They peruse the Low Tide menu, available 5-6 p.m. during the week, trying to decide between the baked oysters and salmon crudo.

By 5:04 p.m. owner Aline Reitzer is seating a party in the dining room, early evening sun streaming softly through the floor-to-ceiling windows. A flock of servers in dark blue button downs and jeans prepare for the shift ahead.

Visible from the bustling Staples Mill and Bethlehem Road intersection, sleek, newly constructed Acacia midtown sits at the corner of Suite 105 of mixed-use development Libbie Mill Midtown. The longtime Richmond restaurateurs are taking every advantage of this bright, clean slate of a space to experiment with multiple personalities.

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Acacia midtown is new and old. Upscale and relaxed. A little bit tropical island, a little bit Euro chic. “It’s been a growing process for us because people will still ask for or expect the old Acacia sometimes,” says owner and chef Dale Reitzer. “It’s an adjustment for sure.”’

Loyal patrons who frequented Acacia 1.0 and 2.0 will still find the beloved crab cake and tuna ceviche on Acacia 3.0’s menu. They’ll be able to order handhelds previously listed on the bar menu from the regular dinner menu, and they’ll always be treated to attentive and knowledgeable service.

But now, diners will also be able to enjoy whole roasted fish, oysters and bone marrow straight from the kitchen’s brick oven. They’ll likely want to snap a pic in the gorgeous, gender-neutral bathroom with shared washing space. And they’ll never have to fight for street parking.

“I feel like we haven’t gone too far afield to lose regulars we built over 20 years,” says Aline. “But now we can attract even more people who may not go downtown or into the Fan.”

The Reitzers could have, theoretically, hung up their hats and kicked up their feet after closing Acacia 2.0. But a dream for many sounds like a nightmare for Aline. “We are here six days a week, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. but we haven’t worked in three years, so we have some making up to do,” she laughs, adding, “I don’t like not working—it does not suit me very well.”

They love the grind, sure, but the Reitzers says they’re also so grateful for the enthusiasm from diners, both old and new. “The other day someone brought tears to my eyes,” says Aline. “They were listing all the celebrations they’d had at Acacia over the years. You don’t always appreciate and think about every day how much you touch people.”

The Reitzers hope to continue to draw new and varied diners into their centrally located, interstate 64-adjacent location.

There are still exciting developments on the horizon, with a market space already constructed in the front, ready to be filled with wine, snacks and fresh seafood to-go. The spacious patio should be open just in time for warm weather, and lunch service will start up soon, too.

“The number of people who came by here from around the neighborhood during the construction process asking when we would open, saying ‘We’re so excited you’re here,’ was great,” says Dale. “That’s what we wanted, that’s one of the reasons we came here: It’s a nice place to be.”

Located at 2363 Roux Street, Suite 105, Acacia midtown is currently open for dinner Monday-Saturday 5-8:30 p.m. A special “Low Tide” menu is available in the bar area Monday-Friday from 5-6 p.m. Keep tabs on soon-to-come lunch, patio and market offerings by following Acacia midtown on Instagram.

Odyssey: A journey of epic (oven-less) proportions

When talking about forthcoming restaurant Odyssey in August 2022, Alewife chef de cuisine Bobo Catoe told Richmond Magazine, “I want to see if I can do without all the stuff I’ve always had.”

Now that the restaurant has been open almost two months, Catoe laughs about his former self’s masochism. “I don’t know if I’m happy about it,” he admits. “But in some ways, I really am enjoying the challenge.”

Catoe and Odyssey co-owner Lee Gregory (Southbound, Alewife) moved from their year-long residency at Hatch Local Food Hall to 6919 Patterson Ave. last summer.

The unassuming building has housed everything from Billy Fallen’s Billy Pies to a frozen yogurt shop, a Green Drop donation center to, many moons ago, a Bethel Cleaners, where you could get your shirt dry-cleaned for under $4. [Some may even remember the old Steak & Egg].

The dining space is cozy, and the kitchen–calling it a kitchen may be a stretch—is tight.

“People still come in and ask, ‘That’s all of it?,’” laughs Catoe.

There are two induction burners (put away when service starts), a wood-fired oven and minimal cold storage. Dezhan White, who has worked in kitchens with Catoe since he was 16, joins chef behind the bar, where diners can watch the two prepare menu items falling into either a “hot” or “cold” category.

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You’ve likely spied some of these photogenic items on your Instagram feed—the “cold” section features the beautifully balanced, Virginia-grown Matheson oysters garnished with mango, makrut lime and basil. A popular “hot” section item is a set of four perfectly fluffy potato rolls, served with neon orange trout roe, yuzu jam and sour butter.

Odyssey is currently open four nights a week, Wednesday-Saturday, for dinner service.

The small food menu is mighty—a little more than a dozen items altogether—and the drink offerings are equally slim, but impressive. “I make the cocktails in kegs, we have three on draft and two beers and a draft wine,” says Catoe. While there is liquor onsite, Catoe urges that this is not the place to order a “Ramos and two Manhattans.”

“We’re booking up on the weekends,” says Catoe. “Right now, we have two servers and a host, Dezhan and I cook every day.”

Catoe also has two small children, a wife and that other award-winning seafood joint to look after, but the Mississippi native is accustomed to long hours and hard work. He worked at the OG Husk from 2011-2013, when the inimitable Sean Brock was still there, doing hundreds of tickets a day.

This is a different kind of hard, though. “We don’t do lunch and dinner and 300 people like at Husk. But it’s real hard to cook without a stove,” says Catoe.

It’s a different scene than Church Hill, too. Odyssey is technically located within Richmond City limits, but the unmistakable marks of suburbia—neighboring Country Club of Virginia, plenty of nice grocery store options, Target within spitting distance—abound.

Maybe that’s what makes Odyssey’s steelhead tartare and escargot more special, though. Plus, there’s parking.

Odyssey is located at 6919 Patterson Ave. and is open for dinner Wednesdays-Saturdays from 5-9 p.m.

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