Nellysford
Nelson County, Virginia
After just over a year in operation, Dogwood Restaurant in Nellysford closed it’s doors several weeks ago and is now apparently up for sale according to the sign in front of the restaurant. The Dogwood opened in February of 2008 after nearly 2 years in delays before opening then. Earlier this summer the sign out front said “closed will reopen.” The restaurant never reopened and a few weeks later the for sale sign went up.
The restaurant known for its beautiful outdoor seating originally opened serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, but stopped serving breakfast a few months after opening and concentrated on serving lunch and dinner. Withing months of opening Vito’s in Nellysford opened as did Devils Backbone Restaurant in November of last year, just down the road in Beech Grove.
The sign out front currently displays 434.826.9301 as the number to call for information anyone wanting additional information on the sale.
The Thursday Rockfish Presbyterian Men’s Lunch Group is grateful for the warm welcome, good food, and excellent service we received at the Dogwood Restaurant during it’s all-too-brief time among us!
We agree David. Hate to see them leave us. Hopefully someone will buy them soon. NCL
I’m not in the area now , but I wonder if the food wasn’t that good or if poor visibility/signage was a problem. Certainly the setting is excellent.
John..
Don’t think the visibilty was the problem. It is an excellent place to have a restaurant with ambiance.
The food wasn’t horrible, just not as fresh as the locals expected. With Vitos, and the Devils Backbone…they have pretty great food and much competition. Needs to be unique!
I’m sad to see the Dogwood go. They had the best country fried steak and white gravy in central Virginia!
Ate there three or four times. Mediocre food, at best, but always some of the slowest service in town: even on a slow day or at off hours. That combination will not cut it in a town as small as Nellysford ….especially when you have at least seven other food options within a half mile radius. I am not surprised.
Many of us in The Valley liked it when the old school became the garden center. We were sad to see that close, and were delighted to think a nice sit-down grill would make use of the old school and nice setting. Since Truslow’s Better Burger and Auto Repair (and it’s 2-3 lives thereafter) closed there just wasn’t a good place to sit and get a ‘burger. The Dogwood gave us hope. We went a number of times, even tho we live just down the road. Food quality and good service are vital to success. The word on the street was, more often than not, “disappointed”, and so on to other options.
We envision a European style beer/wine garden. The food could be elegant and fresh. Salads from the local growers, imported cheeses, artisan breads, Tapas style, homemade soups. perhaps ethnic themes: Greek. Italian, French, Asian. Music could be light jazz. Even a dance floor in the yard. Tiny lights in the trees on a summer’s night would create a perfect atmosphere. We need a place which gives us a choice of food styles and does not compete with our existing businesses each with their own style. We miss a good Middle-Eastern restaurant.
Agreed Greg. Many times people just want a burger, a hot dog, something simple with a nice but simple atmosphere. Owners must realize that people visiting here often have all of the unique options they can say grace over in larger cities. Those of us living here didn’t move here for the diverse food selections. Charm, character, good service, fundamentals. Eggs, biscuits, a burger, etc. There was a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on the breakfast crowd. At the time, other than a quick store in and out breakfast, there were no other options during the week for breakfast. Now Java and Amrbrosia offer that option, and in particular on weekends, are covered up with customers. Basic Necessities is a another prime example. It’s a block building with ivy growing on it, but the charm and character, fantastic! The service excellent and personal. There’s unique food choices, or simply a sandwich and coffee for the regulars. Look at Blue Ridge Pig, nothing upscale, just good food, friendly service, the basics.
I agree with Greg’s comments. My wife & I really wanted to like the Dogwood, but the food was just not all that good.
I would love to see a local restaurant that emphasizes our great local food! Many of our restaurants have local wine & beer, and some have local bread, meat and cheese; but I would love to have a restaurant where everything (within reason) is as local as possible. On a recent trip to Seattle, we ate at the Portage Cafe (a restaurant specializing in local fare), and it was wonderful! (Call it the “Local Yokel?)
We drive over from Covesville for dinner out quite often. Several times we stopped and looked, from the road, at Dogwood trying to figure out if it was open or not. We never drove up becasue it just didn’t seem to be inviting us in.
I like the comments about what to do with the space. Hope something gets going there soon.
Oddly enough Fran, we understand someone has recently purchased the restaurant equipment, or some of it and are planning to reopen the restaurant there at some point, though we have few details, we did see some limited activity there last week. If anyone knows other details, post away.