Weekly Food News: Little Nickel and The Jasper open, Duck Donuts, Chipotle, Cafe Caturra close, Rustica goes German, and more

All the news that’s fit to eat

Little Nickel is now open in Forest Hill – The Giavos’ latest restaurant, Little Nickel in Forest Hill, is finally open for business. The menu has been described as “vacation food,” that is to say food with tropical and Mediterranean influences. The restaurant, near O’Toole’s on Forest Hill Avenue, is open for lunch and dinner. More here.

The Jasper’s doors are now open in Carytown – The Jasper, the highly-anticipated new cocktail bar from popular industry veterans Mattias Hägglund, Thomas Leggett, and Kevin Liu, opened this week in Carytown. From delicious craft cocktails to an eclectic food menu, there’s plenty to explore. Take a look inside.

Duck Donuts shutters Short Pump location at West Broad Village – After a two year stint in West Broad Village, Duck Donuts has closed their Short Pump location. The donut purveyor, with roots in Duck, North Carolina on the Outer Banks, opened in the center in January of 2016. It was the chain’s second Richmond location after the Willow Lawn store opened in 2014. See the Facebook post announcing the closure here.

Chipotle leaves Stony Point Fashion Park – Chipotle is the latest restaurant to leave the ghost town known as Stony Point Fashion Park. If you’ve been over there lately, you’ve no doubt noticed the decline in foot traffic. The closure isn’t blamed squarely on a lack of customers, but it couldn’t have helped things. The mall location–the chain’s first in Richmond–departed earlier this month. They plan to open another in nearby Regency Square, as the mall undergoes extensive renovations. Get the scoop here.

Cafe Caturra’s Midlothian location is permanently closed – The Midlothian Cafe Caturra location has also been darkened. The location at 13830 Village Drive had a note posted on the window stating the restaurant is permanently closed, leaving only the Libbie & Grove Avenue spot in existence. The remaining locations have either closed or been converted to Tazza Kitchen concepts. More from the RTD here.

A roundup of some of the city’s best burger joints – Richmond Magazine has the definitive guide to the area’s best burgers in this month’s issue, from the mainstays and newcomers to the downright eclectic. If you’re in the mood for a good burger in Richmond you’ve got plenty of options, and they’re all outlined right here.

Café Rustica goes full German in downtown space – Downtown restaurant Café Rustica has revamped its menu and traded a “C” for a “K” to become more German-like as it becomes a full on “schnitzel bar.” The space at 414 E. Main Street has always served up European fare, so the shift isn’t that dramatic. Read up on the new menu from the RTD here.

How to open a restaurant, from A to ZZQ – If you want to know all the nuts and bolts that go into opening a restaurant, this explainer piece that uses ZZQ’s new Scott’s Addition restaurant as an example is a great case study. The delicious brisket and jalapeño mac and cheese will soon be served, but until then, learn more about all the steps required to put together a place of its kind–it’ll blow your mind.

This week’s restaurant reviews

• Athens Tavern (Style Weekly)