Biz Buzz: Grandpa Eddie’s has school ‘Spirit’ to share

On a recent Wednesday night in Henrico County, about 50 teenagers packed into Grandpa Eddie's Alabama Ribs & BBQ to listen to some local bands jam.

Their parents, for the most part, sat in the back, noshing on fried okra and peanut-butter pie and watching from a safe distance.

"It was a really good night. The kids got a chance to perform in front of their friends," said Carey Friedman, who owns the restaurant on Three Chopt Road near Cox Road.

The three bands that played were from nearby Pocahontas Middle School. Friedman let the students use the sound system and then gave 10 percent of the proceeds to the school.

The evening is part of Grandpa Eddie's Spirit Day program. The restaurant has always offered the discount to teachers, but it is now expanding to help raise money for schools.

Friedman says he knows from experience how much help schools need. He was staff counsel in the House of Delegates for about 10 years and worked on budgets, and his wife was a schoolteacher for five years.

"With budgets tight at schools, we want to do everything we can to be an active member of the community and give back to our kids," he said.

Friedman started the restaurant in Goochland County in 2005. It moved to Henrico County in 2007, taking the space of the former Julian's Restaurant. He said he got his love for cooking -- and the name of the restaurant -- from his maternal grandfather, Eddie Schanzer.

For the Spirit Days, Grandpa Eddie's creates flyers for schools, which distribute them. Anyone coming in for a meal on the set date gets 10 percent of the tab donated to the school.

Grandpa Eddies also gives a 10 percent discount on gift cards on that day, which can be used at any time.

"It's a win-win for everyone," Friedman said.

Easy Street closes

Easy Street Café on West Main Street in the Fan District closed Saturday. New owners will reopen Thursday as F.W. Sullivan's Fan Bar & Grille.

"Easy Street had a great run. There are a lot of memories in the place for a lot of people," said Jake Crocker, who will be general manager of the new restaurant. "We've got a unique concept that we're putting in place, though, one that has a real personality."

Easy Street opened in 1997. It closed for six months late last year and reopened in April.

Crocker is part of FWS LLC, the ownership group that will run the new restaurant at 2401 W. Main St. Crocker also is president and chief strategist of Richmond-based Crocker Strategic Marketing.

Sean Murphy, who was at Metro Grill until about two months ago, will be executive chef and oversee catering.

The menu is described as "a gourmet twist on traditional pub fare."

The restaurant is named for world traveler F.W. "Sully" Sullivan IV. Crocker wouldn't disclose if Sullivan is an actual person or a character.

Each week, entrees, desserts, beer and wine specials will reflect Sullivan's location. Customer can track his travels through an interactive map at the restaurant and through social-media channels including Twitter and Facebook.

Shula's opening

Shula's Steak House will open in western Henrico on Dec. 1.

The upscale steak house, part of a chain created by Hall of Fame NFL head coach Don Shula, will be in the Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa, which is set to open near Short Pump Town Center in December. Shula's will have entrances from the hotel and the outside.

Shula's is decorated with about $10,000 in sports and celebrity memorabilia.

Each of the restaurant's three rooms seats about 30 people, and a lounge seats about 45.

There is a Shula's 2 Steak & Sports in the Sheraton Richmond West on West Broad Street. It is more of a sports bar that offers casual dinning with an upscale menu, according to the chain's Web site.

HomeLink expands

Chesterfield County-based HomeLink is expanding by offering services in Henrico and Richmond.

HomeLink offers what it calls a "one-stop-shopping approach to home improvement and maintenance." It performs services from housecleaning and lawn care to more complex jobs such as remodeling, roofing, plumbing and electrical work.

The company primarily operates in Chesterfield but has added customers in Short Pump and Richmond.

It has hired a manager that will service and find business in Richmond's West End and western Henrico.

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or . Follow him at http://twitter.com/RTDBizBuzz.