{"id":282097,"date":"2026-06-30T10:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T10:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/282097\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T10:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T10:36:12","slug":"new-bar-cicadas-to-replace-short-lived-queens-comfort-in-old-city-dogs-spot-in-the-slip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/282097\/","title":{"rendered":"New bar Cicada’s to replace short-lived Queens Comfort in old City Dogs spot in the Slip"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"cicadas<\/a><\/p>\n

Joshua Litchford, Michael Kaplan and Henry Preston (Courtesy Cicada\u2019s)<\/p>\n

A group of restaurant industry vets are looking to bring some added buzz to Shockoe Slip.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joshua Litchford, Henry Preston and Michael Kaplan are preparing to open Cicada\u2019s, a new restaurant and bar at 1316 E. Cary St., a space that was the former longtime home of City Dogs and most recently the short-lived Queens Comfort.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each of the partners\u2019 resumes is filled with stints at local restaurants. Litchford was a bar manager at Secret Sandwich Society, Preston is a chef who was previously at The Boathouse at Sunday Park, and Kaplan has worked at the likes of Can Can Brasserie and Acacia Midtown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The three friends also have something else in common: they each either worked at City Dogs or lived above it, and all of them spent time hanging out there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When the 1,200-square-foot space came available after Queens Comfort\u2019s closure over the winter<\/a>, the trio said they jumped on it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all of our favorite bar back in the day. We just wanted it to be that neighborhood bar again,\u201d Preston said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"cicadas<\/a><\/p>\n

City Dogs had been in the space for more than 15 years. (Mike Platania photo)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe location is probably why we\u2019re doing this right now,\u201d Litchford said. \u201cIt was mostly just the love for this place and wanting to revitalize this downtown area a little bit. We met friends that have then become family at this particular bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group said they\u2019re hoping Cicada\u2019s can rekindle the spirit of City Dogs in some ways, with affordable food and laid-back atmosphere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Its menu will include sandwiches, salads, burgers, wraps and appetizers, as well as \u00a0\u201cBird Dogs,\u201d a dish from the Carolinas with a chicken tender and toppings on a hot dog bun. Litchford said they\u2019ll also have gluten-free and vegetarian options.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe mostly just want to do our thing and have some fun with the menu. We\u2019re not trying to pigeonhole ourselves into any specific cuisine: just general hometown bar food,\u201d Litchford said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kaplan added that they want to make sure Cicada\u2019s has good value and large portions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that we were really trying to aim for is that if you\u2019re coming in with just $20, we want to make sure that you can get fed, have a drink, and feel like you\u2019re not breaking the bank,\u201d Kaplan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cicada\u2019s will be open for lunch and dinner, and for late-night service on Fridays and Saturdays. The owners have been cleaning and redecorating the space with eyes on a July opening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Litchford, Preston and Kaplan said they came up with the name by putting a piece of paper on the wall and tossed out nearly 100 ideas until they reached consensus on Cicada\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that I\u2019ve been thinking about lately is that cicadas are a keystone species, and that\u2019s kind of what we\u2019re looking to be as a bar,\u201d Kaplan said. \u201cWe want to be a spot that is just here and part of the overall environment of being downtown in Shockoe.\u201d<\/p>\n

A block up from Cicada\u2019s is the former Sam Miller\u2019s space in the Slip that recently went back up for lease<\/a>, and around the corner is Southern Railway Taphouse, which is now under new ownership<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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