RICHMOND, Va. — Southbound, a restaurant combining the visions of two of Richmond’s most lauded chefs, is closing after a 10-year run at Bon Air’s Stony Point Shopping Center.

“We are saddened to share the news that Southbound will be closing on November 16,” a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page said. “Unfortunately, we were unable to negotiate a new lease that was fair and reasonable.”

Richmond chefs Joe Sparatta (Heritage) and Lee Gregory (Alewife, formerly Roosevelt) were the big names behind the restaurant. When it opened at 3034 Stony Point Drive in 2014.

When asked to comment on the restaurant’s closing, Sparatta deferred to Gregory.

“We’ve accomplished everything you’ve ever dreamed of,” Gregory said this week when asked about Southbound’s decade-long run. “Ten years in a restaurant is like 150 years in real life.”

Provided to WTVR

Gregory said his restaurants have become a destination and helped raise the profile of the shopping mall he calls home.

Gregory said Southbound’s success is the reason behind increased rent along with the addition of the nearby Trader Joe’s grocery store.

Gregory said the 60 percent rent increase has made it difficult to keep the Southern route open.

“That was an impossible number to keep track of,” he said. “It stinks going out like this.”

A representative from Richmond-based Cushman & Wakefield – Thalhimer, which helps manage the mall, he told richmond.com had seen “tremendous rent growth across all grocery-related assets in our market over the last few years.”

Gregory said it “makes no sense” for Southbound to remain open at the new lease price.

“Frankly, I’m sorry,” the Richmond restaurant critic said. Eat, Virginia When asked about the restaurant’s closing, podcast co-host Robey Martin said: “Southbound helped make its downtown location the ‘go-to place.’ It’s hard to watch a restaurant price out something they ultimately helped create.”

While Martin said he was “extremely hopeful” someone else would make room for the Southbound team to relocate, Gregory said there were no immediate plans to open a new restaurant. He said he remains open to new restaurant ideas and business opportunities.

Gregory said that while he and Joe were the headliners when Southbound opened, what makes Southbound so special is the team they’ve strengthened around them, including chefs Bobo Catoe, Craig Perkinson and Andrew Manning.

“When you decide to work with someone, you put your egos aside and learn how to blend ideas to make everyone happy,” he said. “It was a unique experience, and we wanted all our employees to love the restaurant as much as we did. These guys made it easy for us. They took charge.”

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