HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — For Jessica and Josh Bufford, the birth of their new cocktail bar Mix was not accompanied by a new addition to their family. The openings of their previous restaurants, Toast New American Gastropub and Hutch Bar + Eatery coincided with the births of their two children.
Mix was born out of the idea that the Buffords wanted more space for their customers to enjoy.
“We kept finding that we have a really terrific local bar crowd here at Hutch, and we just kept running out of space,” Josh said.
So when Tuckahoe Cleaners closed its Gayton Crossing location, the Buffords moved in.
“We cut a hole in the wall and we attached this [Mix] to our kitchen at Hutch,” Jessica said.
“The space is actually all one space, historically, it was separated when it was the restaurant and the cleaners,” Josh added. “We re-established [a] doorway that happened to go through the new kitchen. We built [a moving] bookcase that allows us to serve food from the existing kitchen back into the new bar.”
When Mix officially opens for business on Friday, February 22, customers will be greeted by 350 spirits available behind the bar, along craft beer, wine, and a limited food menu. The Buffords said they had to figure out how much the kitchen could handle with the additional 15 seats Mix added to the… mix.
The sleek and sexy space, located adjacent to Hutch (through a separate entrance), is decorated with portraits of music royalty like Prince, Bob Dylan, and Run-DMC. The music theme continues to the menu printed on album covers, and an Instagram ready bathroom for when you just have to take a selfie.
Restaurant: Mix
Food style: Cocktails
Address: 1308 Gaskins Road, Henrico, Virginia (Gayton Crossing Shopping Center)
Hours: Wed. – Sat. 4 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Getting ready for opening night! #cocktailbar #richmond #rva #rvadrinks
Eat It, Virginia! with Scott and Robey is a podcast driven by food. We discuss Richmond restaurants and food events, answer your most pressing food-related questions, and share listener-submitted dining suggestions. Email the show here.
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