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It Must Be Heaven, OMG Cafe are clean
05/01/2011 9:19 AM by John M
It Must Be Heaven and the new OMG Cafe & Lounge each recently passed their health inspections with flying colors.
The food at OMG Cafe is wonderful!
It doesn’t look open! We were just by there yesterday. Glad to hear the positive feedback!!
When did restaurants/bars inside that building ever look open? I think usually they were on a “one-light-bulb” limit…
On a serious note, hope the OMG Cafe does well, and lasts longer than previous places.
Is OMG going to take the garbage bag off the door at some point or is that a permanent part of the decor?
laura endorses OMG Cafe. Great! Now I know to avoid it!
I agree about the bag. I think they would be more likely to pull a crowd if they made it look a little more inviting. What that building REALLY needs is a big open window where the brick wall is, some natural light and a more welcoming feeling.
you guys should really stop in this place. it is so different from everything else that has been there. at least in terms of aesthetics. it looks really great in there for such a small space. and the menu looks darn good as well. unfortunately not a lot of vegetarian options, but for those of you who enjoy meat, there’s curry chicken, pork chops, fried chicken and waffles(!), meat loaf, tons of burgers and sandwiches, several different grits options, even breakfast sandwiches. i feel kind of bad for them. i don’t think they’re getting many customers. despite the overly cute name, i think this place is going to be good. help out a neighborhood restaurant and try it!
I went inside to look it was really clean but I’m with you guys the bags gotta go, I also ordered a chicken & waffle meal & it was great along with the service they provided so thumbs up to OMG from me..wish them much success
The bags are gone, the food is good and the price is nice. Worth checking out. Was surprised at how nice it looked once the bag was gone. They also do delivery.
I ate at OMG last night and the pork chop, collard greens and macaroni and cheese were real good. The place was clean and the service was great. Talked to the owner who was nice and wanted to have a place that the neighborhood could call its own. My friend had the fish and it was also fantastic. Everything made fresh and large portions. This place can’t be kept a secret much longer.
Almost Heaven has some of the best ice cream around. Blows Bevs and others out of the water. People around Church Hill have to keep this place open. Friendly staff always extremely nice and their milkshakes although a little pricey are second to none.
Almost Heaven is good but $7 for a milkshake ridiculous.
I want to keep Almost Heaven open, but their hours are not friendly to those of us that only want sweets after dinner. I strolled by around 8pm, and they were already closed. 🙁
Hey guys I went by omg two days ago & tried the fish dinner, omg!! It was great guys, you gotta stop bye even the service from the waitress was great I see this place going places soon…
@5…That will make the place even better…I’m certain!
I have to agree with many of the prior posts, the food and service is absolutely wonderful. Don’t let the aesthetics get in the way of stopping in. Once inside, it’s a warm, wonderful place. The owners are grateful for the business and very accommodating with a great product (unlike some new pizza place). Best of luck to the crew.
We ate there last Saturday for lunch and had a great experience. Food was good, servings plentiful, prices reasonable, and fanatstic service by the owners. Definiteley our neighborhood joint!
Can someone suggest to OMG that they get one or two vegetarian options? After reading all the positive comments and receiving a menu on my car, I’d like to check it out. I’m a pescetarian so I can try the fish dinner, but my truly vegetarian husband has no real option.
Anyone know when the Roosevelt will be open? I cannot wait!
Advice to OMG: Apply for the Bon Secours business funding and if granted, use the money to liven up the storefront facade.
I haven’t visited OMG but hope to do so soon.
Ate at OMG last Saturday and it was great! Will absoultely go back soon!
OMG Cafe serves Legend’s Beer on tap! Just stopped in to pick up a menu and inquire about dinner hours. Learned they serve dinner till 10pm Mon-Wed, 12 midnite Thurs-Sat. We’re late eaters, so we’ll be “bringing a pillow and blanket” to OMG Cafe. Note: staff advises the sleeping props since the quantity/quality of food they serve can apparently induce a post meal nap, a-k-a food coma (tho a take-out container might keep one awake afterwards). Yup, my kinda eatin’.
The contrast between comments on this thread and the B&W thread is interesting. One has a great location and a beautiful storefront, the other one seems to know how to run a restaurant. My only gripe with OMG is their name and their exterior. If they get the word out and start drawing the crowds, maybe they can move up to a new location and rebrand with a more sophisticated name. I know a great storefront on Broad that may eventually open up…
I ate at OMG again last night and it was once again amazing. I got the meat loaf along with collard greens and cabbage, along with a Legends Brown Ale on tap. I can’t say enough about the food and the service. The owner and Chef, DeAndre, said he would try to make the Union Hill Civic Association meeting tonite- 630 @Tricycle Garden Farmstand to meet some neighbors.
JD, I can’t agree more. It was one of the downfalls of the last tenants. The place looks like a cross between a prison shed and a nondescript warehouse. No personality to the facade. No windows to look into and see what is going on or what it is all about. People could drive by without even taking a glance at the place. People say “give it a chance” but no one gets to that point at that location with it as is.
And like others, the OMG name is a bit awkward and not exactly politically correct – and/or at least needs better signage and a advertising campaign.
If someone wanted to open up a restaurant, Charlie Johnson’s old building would be one candidate (400 N 27th) and was one from 1955 on (Brown’s Restaurant) until it was a Laundromat and the 1/2 address a pool hall until 1979. The building was originally Fleshman’s Pharmacy and then in 1934 Hord’s Drug Store. I am speaking of the building Charlie lived in himself, not the one where House of Homemade Bakery and Commissary is moving into at 325 N 27th (2707 E Marshall) and think will be run by Bettina Pamplona of Sodexho and not the old historic 401 building currently in spot blight proceedings. It has a nice first floor plan, a corner building with corner entrance, and street level windows to look in to.
Problem with Charlie’s building is that the exterior looks fine but it needs to sold as a “shell” because the interior is uninhabitable. Trash is piled up everywhere. Can’t even get to the second floor or basement because the stairs are dilapidated and the real estate agent wouldn’t even venture up them! The roof needs replaced also so… one would have a clean canvas interior wise. A shame too. The building isn’t that old, built in 1921 (I researched it) and still has remnants of the mosaic tile floors and tin panel ceilings. But the price is a hell of a lot better than what they are asking for the 401 building – $186k and I am sure can be negotiated! Only problem would be with any of these residential corner business buildings… parking. It is on the market though and someone had thought about a grocery store there but was looking for a more turnkey location.
Eric
Does OMG have a website, Facebook Page, or a menu online to view? I love “comfort” food especially if it is homemade and at a good price. Do they serve homemade rolls? Can’t beat them over bland dry packaged ones and would be a quick sell for me.
Would like someone to make it there but again, the facade is not very inviting and hard to make a judgement from that.
Eric,
I ate there on Monday night and DeAndre said he is having a website built now. He also said that once he stabilizes this location, he’ll be opening a vegetarian spot next door with an outdoor patio. um, yes please! We had excellent service, clean and nice inside…the crab cake sandwich was delicious.
I agree with the front facade… maybe they could paint the exterior wall with a mural of a restaurant with people inside eating… or something to that effect???? their facade is hard to work with since they have such a small window on the front…but it definitely needs something.
The building sits in a historic district but the building itself isn’t being built in the 1960s. It wouldn’t be hard to knock out some bricks and add a nice set of windows in front.
Eric, did you say a bakery is coming to 2707 E. Marshall?
Yes Ray, apparently so. There are building permits posted saying such and work going on inside. Says Bakery-Commissary but as far as seating goes, probably limited as they only require 3 parking spaces.
Eric
The beauty of OMG is that the food and service are excellent. Issues with the facade of the building and the branding can be fixed. I would much rather have this problem than bad food and service with a wonderful building and fantastic marketing plan. I encourage folks to come out and try the food before the rest of Richmond discovers this place and you find yourself lined up on 25th Street to get a table. The veggie restaurant next store will also be a welcomed addition to the neighborhood.
Bill, I could agree if the restaurant was one of those hidden treasures that took off by world of mouth… much like the grungy looking but raved Buster Holmes hidden deep off the beaten track in the French Quarter of New Orleans. But nothing has lasted that long in this building.
When Yall’s was there, everyone had high praise for the food and service then too but it didn’t last. Then the 25th Street Bar and Grill… that never got off the ground really. Now we have OMG… only time will tell since apparently around our neck of the woods, great food isn’t everything.
Me, I like atmosphere as well and each new owner had an opportunity prior to opening to make the necessary facade changes to add street level windows but none did. Towards the end we couldn’t tell of Yall’s was open or closed and/or on what days?
Eric, Sodexo is a food service giant that typically supplies prepared foods for cafeteria’s, restaurants, dining facilities in hospitals, schools, private companies, etc. Do you think the concept will be a Sodexo facility? That would be a great option for good quality, inexpensive, prepared or quick order foods.
Does everybody else just pronounce OMG mentally as Oh My God? I like the name and apparently it represents a common reaction to their food. You can’t buy these kinds of testimonials. I bet it becomes the new “it” place in Church Hill.
I just moved to the area and checked out OMG Cafe’s supposedly horrible exterior. I grew up in New Jersey and I can tell you I’ve seen DOZENS of restaurants that look like that and served amazing food. To me, it was a glimpse of my native land! I’ll definitely be coming here, particularly if I can score chicken and waffles within walking distance of my place.
Eric,
Please give the restaurant a try then come back and we may be more opt to buy in to your criticism…
This is RVA, not NJ. We’re accustomed to beautiful architecture and inviting storefronts.
Welcome to RVA, btw!! You made a good decision to relocate!!
SEW, I plan on visiting. When I am going to pay for food and service, I want something that I either can’t or don’t want to bother making at home. That leaves out burgers and sandwiches and one gets tired of the Hill Cafe after a while. Hoping for some good food and variety and atmosphere. Blue Plate Special home cooked foods are always a winner with me. But I have a critical pallet and if it isn’t homemade, I can tell and it will turn me off.
As for the facade, I wasn’t the only one who was critical of it when the various businesses were failing… talking about the prison bars on the door, the small windows too high to see in, etc… It only reflects a “crime area” and that isn’t what we want to project in Church Hill by its exterior. We have been fighting to get rid of that stigma albatross for years.
Not sure what the building was originally but it reeks of a seedy Pool Hall by its exterior look.
I stand by my guns that good food and service, which was there before, doesn’t always make a business. Location, Location, Location – as people have said often here. But the location has been chosen so the next step is remodeling 🙂
Laura… as far as Sodexo, that is an educated guess because the permit says B. Pamplona on the window but online it says Bettina Pamplona and there is a Bettina Pamplona listed as a general manager at Sodexo and has a Facebook page with a Richmond Magazine Restaurant link. She looks very young so hopefully she will be successful but must have a business head on her shoulders with the G.M. position.
Eric
Nice to hear about a good restaurant right around the corner from my house (i bought a house recently on 24th and very excited to be living in church hill). Have been looking forward to roosevelt opening (long time fan of ipanema cafe) and good to see another vegetarian options is coming around the corner (comment #26)
We ate at Oh My Gosh Cafe last night and really enjoyed ourselves. The staff were friendly and helpful (already a winner versus predecessors) and the food was affordable and delicious. I had the curry chicken; my wife had the pork chop and collards. OMG is definitely going in the rotation for our regular eateries!
My husband and I went to OMG last night and … well, OMG! I had the bologna burger–deep-fried bologna for the win–and my husband had the pork chop with candied yams. All the food, even the fries, were awesome. DeAndre and Tennille hung out and talked to us for a while. I mentioned the conversation here and he said that he appreciated the word of mouth. Apparently he does pretty good lunch business as well as delivering to local businesses. Don’t let the “scary” exterior keep you away, this is some seriously good eating and like Houdon we’re making this a regular stop.
It’s true… OMG is clean. Haha…
Anyway, my husband and I just ate dinner there, and it was delish! My pork chop was perfectly seasoned, the meat was fresh and flavorful, and the outside was crispy without being too greasy. I will definitely be having OMG pork chop cravings in the future! My husband said the curry chicken was good as well. Plus, the waitress was really friendly and made us feel very welcomed. If you like well-prepared comfort food served with a smile, you will like OMG Cafe.
For anyone who hasn’t tried OMG yet, what are you waiting for? Go try it ASAP!
friday nite @omg: best onion rings in RVA, crab cake sandwich, Legend Brown (on tap) and baseball on the tee-vee. very relaxed. nice friendly service and atmosphere. great place to have on the hill.
Sounding great for OMG.
I still have to stop by and try it. It isn’t a sports bar atmosphere – or attempting like the Hill Cafe is it? You can’t have a descent conversation with friends without missing half the conversation or shouting. Rather have a low lighted, relaxed and semi-formal atmosphere but I am NOT expecting that with OMG… Just wish someone would open up one for the older crowds in Church Hill that doesn’t break the bank.
Has anyone heard anything more about the bakery-commisary going in at 2707 E. Marshall? Hope they have fresh yeast (Krispy Kreme type) doughnuts.. I will be there every morning!
@Eric–it’s kind of set up like a bar but when we went only one other couple was there and they left close to the start of our meal. In other words, people there aren’t a factor. Go, it’s awesome!
We went there for dinner tonight. Good service. Good burger – awesome mashed potatoes!!! We will be back!!!
where is TENNILLE? I sww a whole new set of girls…. not friendly at all
how much you wanna bet RITA WINKLES is TENNILLE?
I wanna thank you all for your support over the past few months to my loyal customers that comes in to support us. I will continue to serve you all quality food @ a great price, continue to tell a friends & relatives abt those guys @ OMG are serving a whole lotta loveout the pot…. Once again thank you for your support….