Staunton restaurants that opened in 2023 and what's ahead for 2024
STAUNTON — Sometimes, to look forward you have to look back a little bit first. So to see what's ahead for 2024, The News Leader looks back at Staunton restaurant news from 2023.
Icon Marino's Lunch set to reopen in 2024. Hopefully this time, for good.
This March, Felicia and Christopher Sheets will be reopening Marino's Lunch on North Augusta Street in Staunton. She said her family has a history at the restaurant because it was her grandmother's favorite spot to eat and her dad used to accompany her for many a lunch at Marino's.
Victor and Nathalie Meyer bought Marino's Lunch in 2018 and reopened it in April 2022. But COVID, plus a lack of help, ended up forcing the Meyers to close at the end of that year. It remained closed for all of 2023.
Marino's Lunch: Staunton icon Marino's Lunch gets new lease on life. The restaurant is set to reopen in 2024.
The Shack owner Ian Boden to open new fine dining restaurant
Ian and Leslie Boden will be opening a new fine dining restaurant at 1106 N. Augusta St. in Staunton. The Bodens, who own The Shack on South Coalter, want to open a 24-seat fine dining restaurant on the first floor with two guest rooms on the upper floors. There could also be two other guest rooms, one in a cottage on the property near Overlook Road and another in a detached garage.
The Bodens' plan is to move the current fine dining aspect of The Shack to the new restaurant and make The Shack a more casual atmosphere.
"So we'll offer offer a lighter atmosphere, a lot less serious, a lot more fun," said Ian Boden.
The new restaurant, according to Boden, will be open three days a week and will have two seatings a night.
Fine dining: Staunton council approves rezoning request, opening the way for new Chef Ian Boden restaurant
Latin Soul, a new Staunton restaurant
The former home of Table 44 and Mrs. Liptrap's will see life again as a restaurant. Latin Soul was set to open Jan. 6. Mrs. Liptrap's closed in September after being open just six months.
Bessy Peralta and her fiance, Jeff Coffey, have been looking for an opportunity to open their own restaurant and decided this was the chance. The name Latin Soul comes from a combination of her roots in Central America and Coffey's African-American heritage.
Among the menu items are shrimp and grits, pupusas, taquitos Hondrenos, chicken fried steak, meatloaf, carne asada, burgers, Torta Mexicana, chicken strips, and Mexican street tacos.
Latin Soul: Latin Soul, a new Staunton restaurant, set to open Saturday
Queen City Bistro set to open in January
John Allen and his wife Arianna Allen-Hawkes are ready to start their own restaurant, renting what was formerly Slyde at 23 and, before that, Emilio's. Slyde closed in September.
Located 23 E. Beverley St., the newest restaurant will be The Queen City Bistro. Menu items include steak; salmon; four different pastas, including a homemade gnocchi; crab cakes, and a few vegetarian and vegan dishes.
More: Queen City Bistro set to open in January on Staunton's East Beverley Street
Chicano Boy owner Justin Hershey opening Pizza Luca
Before opening Chicano Boy Taco, Justin Hershey had developed a wood-fired pizza concept at Newtown Baking with owner Bill Willett. Newtown Baking was sold by Willett and the business closed in 2021, but Hershey has been thinking about a way to bring pizza back to Staunton ever since.
Hershey will do that with Pizza Luca, a new brick oven pizza restaurant on North Lewis Street next to Silver Line Theatre and not far from Chicano Boy. Pizza Luca will be located at 213 N. Lewis St.
Pizza Luca: Chicano Boy owner Justin Hershey opening brick oven pizza restaurant in Staunton
Magdalena Pastelería is a dream come true
Magdalena’s light shines through her daughter Alba Wright, owner of Magdalena Pastelería in downtown Staunton. A dream come true for Wright, the pastelería (cake shop) has a little bit of everything — pastries, scones, empanadas, cakes. Sweets are Wright’s passion. Cakes are her favorite.
Magdalena's is located at 208 N. Central Ave. in Staunton.
Magdalena: Magdalena Pastelería is a dream come true
Cosette Cafe, a breakfast and lunch eatery
Angela and Robert Higgs, owners of Accordia wine bar & bistro at 114 E. Beverley St., opened Cosette Cafe, a breakfast and lunch eatery at 101 West Beverley last August, on the corner of West Beverley Street and North Central Avenue.
"That bright sunny corner kind of suits breakfast," said Robert Higgs. "It looks like a cafe, during-the-day kind of place."
The restaurant features crêpes and galettes, along with other international offerings and specials.
Cosette Cafe: New breakfast and lunch restaurant with an international flair coming to downtown Staunton
Accordia wine bar & bistro expands menu
What began as a wine bar expanded into a full restaurant in 2023.
Sandwiches include smoked turkey club, prosciutto melt, mediterranean veggie and brie and grape chutney on sourdough bread. Appetizers include plates for sharing, such as the charcuterie board. Homemade savory spreads like roasted red pepper hummus, goat cheese, thyme and fig spread.
Desserts include pot de chocolate — a silky French chocolate custard topped with a hand-whipped cream or tiramisu — a layered dessert consisting of coffee soaked ladyfingers, a Madeira-mascarpone blended cream and crushed pistachios.
And of course, there's wine. Accordia has a wide selection of organic wine, biodynamic wine and zero intervention wine from all over the world, along with Virginia wines.
Angela and Robert Higgs are the owners of Accordia wine bar & bistro at 114 E. Beverley St. in Staunton.
Accordia: Accordia wine bar & bistro expands menu
El Jimador Mexican Restaurant in Statler Square
El Jimador Mexican Restaurant opened in Statler Square in the space previously occupied by Cici's Pizza.
The restaurant is a family effort with owner Jovel Mencia and his brothers and brother-in-law helping run the restaurant. The family has experience, Mencia said, with other Mexican restaurants in Virginia, but none under the name El Jimador. This will be the family's first restaurant in the Shenandoah Valley.
"We'll have Mexican recipes, of course," Mencia said. "A lot of it will be made from scratch. We'll try to be more homemade than Tex-Mex."
El Jimador: New restaurant coming to former Cici's Pizza space in Staunton's Statler Square
Reporter Patrick Hite contributed to this story.
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This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton restaurants that opened in 2023 and what's ahead for 2024
