{"id":47376,"date":"2025-11-21T15:07:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T15:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/47376\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T15:07:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T15:07:29","slug":"united-by-fire-richmondmagazine-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/47376\/","title":{"rendered":"United by Fire – richmondmagazine.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

As one approaches the latest project from chefs, restaurateurs and spouses Patrick Phelan and Megan Fitzroy Phelan, flickering flames are visible through the front window \u2014\u00a0a silent, unmistakable sign\u00a0of what\u2019s to come. Situated in a\u00a0corner building at 1616 Summit Ave., The Brooklyn<\/a> is a compact, wood-fired refuge that thrives on contrasts: dark yet inviting, intimate yet energetic. Part wine and cocktail bar, part restaurant, part late-night destination, it lives up to its tagline \u2014 \u201clow lights, high spirits, good times, after hours\u201d \u2014 as it makes its debut this week in Scott\u2019s Addition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that brings it all together is just fire,\u201d says Patrick, who also\u00a0operates\u00a0Lost Letter<\/a> and Lillian<\/a> with his wife. \u201cIt\u2019ll unify everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside, the dining room takes its cues from two wood-fired vessels that anchor the space and set its cadence. Named for the couple\u2019s\u00a05-year-old son\u00a0(sister restaurant Lillian honors\u00a0their daughter), The Brooklyn continues a thread the duo\u00a0never expected to extend across multiple blocks in Scott\u2019s Addition.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of this was driven off the bar really close to Meg and I in New York,\u201d Patrick says of their former city. \u201cAnd we loved [that] when you came in, there was just\u00a0like a little potbelly stove, and some benches, and you could come in and get a drink with someone quick and jet, or stay for hours\u00a0and not feel like you\u2019re putting pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of ease\u00a0guides this new venture, with the Phelans surrounded by familiar experts in its realization:\u00a0woodworker Daniel Ricky, whose wraparound bar sweeps into a service area illuminated\u00a0by heat lamps; Fultz & Singh Architects, also responsible for Lillian and the former Longoven space (the Phelans\u2019 first Richmond concept with chef Andrew Manning)\u00a0that now houses Lost Letter; and the tenured team that grounds the operation. There is a quiet confidence that shapes their workflow, and the\u00a0couple says this effort carries the steadiness of experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place is definitely like a third child,\u00a0or a second child,\u00a0in that sense,\u201d Patrick says. A punk-rock-esque\u00a0running-man emblem on the front door\u00a0captures both the nature of their son and the restaurant itself: small, fast-moving and full of energy.<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn\u2019s central distinction is its flames. A Marra\u00a0Forni oven and custom grill from Grills by Demant\u00a0radiate heat from the open kitchen, where chefs Ryan Diaz and Gary Heintzelman \u2014 alums\u00a0of Charleston, South Carolina\u2019s Michelin-starred Vern\u2019s \u2014 helm the hearth. During service, each keeps an uchiwa, a traditional Japanese fan used in fire cooking, tucked into his apron.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are the core of this kitchen,\u201d Patrick\u00a0says. \u201cThey know each other, and they [have] worked together for a long time. They\u2019re super talented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leather-bound menus feature dishes highlighting\u00a0the depth fire can coax from ingredients. Find a grilled pork skewer with lardo and braised belly over tonnato sauce; beef carpaccio with porcini mushrooms, horseradish shallot\u00a0and potato chips; butterflied and blistered branzino atop papaya-yellow aji amarillo; and a Roseda Farm\u00a0rib-eye. And then there\u2019s the glazed meatloaf,\u00a0a former family meal shared by the staff\u00a0that presents a nostalgic but refined take on\u00a0comfort.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The latter dish speaks to the Phelans\u2019 ambition to establish their role as an after-hours hangout, and to avoid being too precious. \u201cNothing would be greater than for someone to roll in here at 10 o\u2019clock and get a square of meatloaf that is just bomb and a cold beer, so we\u2019ve leaned into that a bit,\u201d Patrick says.<\/p>\n

Further offerings showcase Italian touches and Latin American influences, and vegetarian-friendly plates\u00a0include Easterday Mushrooms in green curry;\u00a0candy roaster squash over bold mole negro with celery root and lime slivers;\u00a0and a bowl of brothy\u00a0gigante white beans and kale with ribbons of Parmesan, hunks of garlic, parsley and lemon.\u00a0In the coming weeks, The Brooklyn will introduce its late-night menu, available from 10 p.m. to midnight.<\/p>\n

Though the fire-friendly menu could easily skew\u00a0toward pizza \u2014 an anchovy bread did make an appearance during The Brooklyn\u2019s\u00a0soft opening \u2014 Patrick is quick to clarify: \u201cThis is my anti-pizza oven,\u201d he says, laughing. \u201cWe will have a pie, but it\u2019s not the main reason for being here.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery item,\u201d he emphasizes, \u201cmust be a banger. We want a place that\u2019s just ultra simple, and polished in some places;\u00a0it\u2019s just kind of in our DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn carries its warmth beyond the kitchen, shaped by James Beard Award-winning designer Julie Roberts, the creative force behind the Phelans\u2019 restaurant identities. Her approach favors subtlety over spectacle. Original tin ceilings draw the eyes up, exposed bulbs jut from the walls, and a single glass bottle embedded in the cement \u2014 a remnant of an earlier era \u2014 hints at the building\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Lighting is\u00a0minimal, with candles casting shadows onto tables\u00a0and patrons at the bar appearing as mere silhouettes. Antique furniture and velvet curtains soften the edges,\u00a0a Hoosier cabinet functions as a service station,\u00a0funky tile in the\u00a0bathrooms introduces pattern, tucked-away two-tops offer pockets of intimacy, and marigold-colored martini glasses pop behind the bar.\u00a0And a\u00a0thoughtfully curated playlist, intended to shift seamlessly throughout the evening, mirrors the restaurant\u2019s tempo: slow and steady at first, then subtly rising as the night progresses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cVibe-wise, that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to keep,\u201d Patrick says. \u201cThe place will get completely dark, super moody, but you can just kind of hunker down here with a date or a friend, and every seat is like a different experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

A focal point of The Brooklyn, the 17-seat bar offers nearly 20 wines by the glass, many of them bold selections from mineral-rich volcanic regions, alongside an extensive bottle list and plenty of Champagne. \u201cProper\u201d cocktails stick to classic three- or four-ingredient builds. There are nods to New Orleans, including the Bywater, a boozy, Big Easy-born sipper;\u00a0Sazerac; and sugar-rimmed Brandy Crusta and French 75. Other drinks include\u00a0a Paloma,\u00a0house martini, rum-forward Jungle Bird and rye-based Brooklyn. Espresso is available both straight up and affogato style over housemade ice cream, crafted by Megan, currently pumpkin spice flavor.<\/p>\n

This next step for the independent restaurant group is also\u00a0a moment of growth for its employees, with a reshuffling of positions and a few fresh, yet experienced, faces joining the mix. \u201cI\u2019m super excited, the staff is really excited,\u201d Patrick says. \u201cThis is definitely the first opening we\u2019ve done as a staff in a sense. We talked about doing this three years ago, and here it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Phelans also recognize a deeper layer to this project: permanence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first thing we own, our investors own,\u201d Patrick says. \u201cWe have a little more freedom to get it right. And not having the pressure \u2014 knowing this place could sit here for 30 years \u2014 it feels like a neighborhood joint, and it\u2019s a pretty awesome little spot. … Once fire fills\u00a0up the whole place, you\u2019ll see it from the door and you won\u2019t escape the kitchen at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn<\/a> is open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m.\u00a0and\u00a0Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight. All\u00a0reservations\u00a0must be made by phone between 3-5 p.m.\u00a0Walk-ins are welcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As one approaches the latest project from chefs, restaurateurs and spouses Patrick Phelan and Megan Fitzroy Phelan, flickering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,26846,26843,26844,26841,9,24,63,26840,26845,17085,26842],"class_list":{"0":"post-47376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","10":"tag-brooklyn-news","11":"tag-eileen-mellon","12":"tag-lillian","13":"tag-lost-letter","14":"tag-megan-fitzroy-phelan","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-city","17":"tag-nyc","18":"tag-patrick-phelan","19":"tag-richmond-restaurants","20":"tag-scott","21":"tag-the-brooklyn"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}