New chapter for Richmond restaurant

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A long-running Richmond restaurant will continue on as new owners take over the business and revamp the menu.

Jeff Kelso and his wife, Corina, have bought Byram’s Lobster House at 3215 W. Broad St., making them the fourth owners of the Richmond restaurant first founded in the 1940s. The previous owner, Gus Nikiforos, made headlines when he threatened to blow up a neighboring business.

Kelso, 63, said he recently retired from 30 years in the computer industry was looking for a business to run with his wife, whom he married last year.

“One thing that occurred to us was restaurateuring,” Kelso.

Before getting into the computer business, Kelso owned a restaurant in the Fan in the 1970s. Before that, he managed the Hibbs Dining Hall at VCU.

Kelso turned to Bandazian & Holden to help him find a restaurant in or near the Fan, which brought him to Byram’s. Kelso bought the business from Nikiforos, who ran the restaurant with his twin brother Paul since the 1990s and up until last week. Kelso said that Nikiforos still owns the building, which he is leasing with exclusive right to purchase.

Kelso wouldn’t disclose financial terms of the deal but said he got it for a reasonable price. Kelso said he is self-funding his costs and retaining the restaurant staff.

Before Kelso came along, the business was put up for auction but did not attract any bids. Nikiforos also got into a bit of legal trouble after vandalizing and threatening to blow up the neighboring building when the owners of McClean’s Restaurant relocated there instead of taking over Byram’s, which they had considered doing. Nikiforos paid restitution and received a suspended sentence.

Kelso has closed the restaurant while he cleans and updates the interior and tweaks the menu.

“We will continue to have live lobster and seafood, but we are changing the secondary emphasis from Greek to Northern Italian,” he said.

Kelso said his wife is Romanian but has spent time in Northern Italy, where she is also a citizen.

Other changes include dropping from 90 menu items to 30 and offering weekly specials. They will also be making their own bread and pasta on site. Kelso has hired an executive chef who previously served in that position at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

He said he expects to reopen Byram’s this month.

20110608-082817.jpg

A long-running Richmond restaurant will continue on as new owners take over the business and revamp the menu.

Jeff Kelso and his wife, Corina, have bought Byram’s Lobster House at 3215 W. Broad St., making them the fourth owners of the Richmond restaurant first founded in the 1940s. The previous owner, Gus Nikiforos, made headlines when he threatened to blow up a neighboring business.

Kelso, 63, said he recently retired from 30 years in the computer industry was looking for a business to run with his wife, whom he married last year.

“One thing that occurred to us was restaurateuring,” Kelso.

Before getting into the computer business, Kelso owned a restaurant in the Fan in the 1970s. Before that, he managed the Hibbs Dining Hall at VCU.

Kelso turned to Bandazian & Holden to help him find a restaurant in or near the Fan, which brought him to Byram’s. Kelso bought the business from Nikiforos, who ran the restaurant with his twin brother Paul since the 1990s and up until last week. Kelso said that Nikiforos still owns the building, which he is leasing with exclusive right to purchase.

Kelso wouldn’t disclose financial terms of the deal but said he got it for a reasonable price. Kelso said he is self-funding his costs and retaining the restaurant staff.

Before Kelso came along, the business was put up for auction but did not attract any bids. Nikiforos also got into a bit of legal trouble after vandalizing and threatening to blow up the neighboring building when the owners of McClean’s Restaurant relocated there instead of taking over Byram’s, which they had considered doing. Nikiforos paid restitution and received a suspended sentence.

Kelso has closed the restaurant while he cleans and updates the interior and tweaks the menu.

“We will continue to have live lobster and seafood, but we are changing the secondary emphasis from Greek to Northern Italian,” he said.

Kelso said his wife is Romanian but has spent time in Northern Italy, where she is also a citizen.

Other changes include dropping from 90 menu items to 30 and offering weekly specials. They will also be making their own bread and pasta on site. Kelso has hired an executive chef who previously served in that position at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

He said he expects to reopen Byram’s this month.

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Beth
Beth
12 years ago

Good luck Jeff! It will be great to see new life breathed into that classic building. Love the shift to Northern Italian. Can we assume today’s Groupon special is for the new launch (the the Space reference) ? I WILL be there!

Beth
Beth
12 years ago

Oops, I meant GoRichmondDeals (it’s kinda like calling all tissues Kleenex)

Brett
Brett
12 years ago

This is a bad idea. Do not squander your retirement. Go get a snow cone cart or something.

Dan
Dan
12 years ago

Al, thanks for running this piece. I have enjoyed taking clients to lunch at Byram’s since the mid 80s and although the last few years haven’t been impressive, I’m looking forward to seeing what changes the Kelsos have made. I, too, favor the shift to Northern Italian.

ZB
ZB
12 years ago

Good luck!

Thomas
Thomas
12 years ago

Interested to see how this plays out, the changes mentioned are needed & welcome. Byram’s was a great spot for a family night out or casual dinner for two when neither felt like cooking, but it definitely declined in quality over the past few years, in my opinion. Hopefully this change of direction & cuisine will bring it back up to that standard… I look forward to Mr. Kelso’s take on Northern Italian as well as any aesthetic upgrades. Good luck, sir.

Charlie Diradour
Charlie Diradour
12 years ago

Will be there soon! Go get em’ Jeff!

Toni Philips Corcoran
Toni Philips Corcoran
12 years ago

I am excited about the possibility of good Northern Italian food, but hate to lose to wonderful retro look of Byrams.