When vegetarian and vegan dishes are your jam, it’s good to know that Rachel Best, chef and co-owner at Blue Atlas, tucked in a renovated school on Fulton Hill, was executive chef at Boulder’s Leaf and has been vegetarian for more than 15 years. With her husband, co-owner and co-chef, Ben Watters, a classically trained chef with stints at Lemaire and Brenner Pass, they’ve created a menu that’s a world tour: Americas, Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Africa. The firepits below the portico and the view overlooking the city are twinkling delights, and the dishes sparkle, too.

After working for Blue Bee Cider for a nearly a decade, couple and music lovers Taylor Benson and Mackenzie Smith purchased Virginia’s first urban cidery in 2023. At their new taproom, expect to hear anything from Phish to Anderson .Paak playing, and stay tuned for the special fall release of Fanfare. "Fans collect mulberries and bring them to us, and we freeze them until we’re ready to use them,” Smith says.

If you’re looking for a unique place to have a meal outside in Richmond and enjoy some nice weather, then we can’t suggest Blue Atlas enough. Located in Richmond’s Fulton Hill neighbor hood and housed in a historic schoolhouse, Blue Atlas offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast and lunch are served counter-service style in the Market, where the food is classic, but elevated and delicious.

When you pull up to an old Fulton Hill school where Blue Atlas is housed, it feels nondescript. But park, venture through the old building and enter a hidden oasis. The host stand welcomes you to the tiny indoor portion of the restaurant on the left and the cute market on the right.