Rams House is set to reopen later this month. (Mike Platania photo)
The group that runs the food operations at two local hockey rinks has scored a new spot in the city.
Javier and Nathalie Cordero are taking over operations of Rams House, the VCU-themed sports bar at 2035 W. Broad St. that Lindsey Food Group opened in 2023.
The restaurant has been temporarily closed in recent weeks during the transition, but Javier said they’re planning to reopen Rams House by the end of the month.
The Corderos own The Penalty Box Group, a pair of eateries within local hockey rinks Shooters Indoor Sportsplex in Chesterfield and Skate Nation Plus in Short Pump. Prior to that Javier worked in the local restaurant industry at places like Toast New American Gastropub, Kreggers Tap and Table, and Firebirds Wood Fired Grill.
Nathalie and Javier Cordero
It was at Firebirds years ago that Cordero said he and Mike Lindsey, who heads up Lindsey Food Group with wife Kimberly Love-Lindsey, got to know each other. The two maintained a relationship and Cordero said last year they began talking about going into business together.
“Jokingly, I told him, let me know when you have a sports bar available, because that’s my lane,” Cordero said. “So we started putting our heads together.”
Those discussions resulted in the Corderos becoming operating partners for Rams House, with plans to later purchase the business outright.
Mike Lindsey said some issues with management led them to close Rams House, and that they wanted to make sure they had the right crew in place before reopening.
“This was just a really good opportunity with a friend I trust,” Lindsey said.
The Corderos will be keeping the Rams House name, but are mixing up the menu, namely by adding pizza and incorporating some flavors from their native country of Ecuador.
“With The Penalty Box menus, we do all kinds of American quick bites like burgers, hot dogs and tacos, but everything has a bit of our South American touch,” Cordero said. “When it comes to tacos we do birria, chicken tinga and carne asada. There’s a little twist on everything.”
Rams House is planning to eventually be open seven days per week for dinner and lunch. The Corderos will continue operating The Penalty Boxes at Shooters and Skate Nation.
Lindsey Food Group, meanwhile, continues to have a significant footprint in the region. Since launching in 2020, the group has opened a dozen concepts throughout the region, mostly by moving into turnkey spaces or acquiring existing restaurants. Its holdings include Lillie Pearl, Buttermilk and Honey, ML Steak Modern Chophouse, and Farm + Oak.
Not all of those ventures have panned out, as Jubilee, an American/West African restaurant Lindsey had on Hull Street in Manchester, closed last year, and Lindsey said construction of a second Farm + Oak at Chesterfield Towne Center has temporarily halted. Kali Love, its California-style seafood restaurant at the Chesterfield mall, is also temporarily closed.
Lindsey said they’re planning to eventually reopen both Kali Love and open Farm + Oak at the mall, which went up for sale last fall.
After a prolific few years, Lindsey said the company is planning to slow things down a bit, noting that they’re not looking to open any new concepts this year.
“If something great comes along, yeah, we’ll do it. But we’re not really looking to open anything this year,” he said. “But you know us, it kind of just happens anyway.”
I was disappointed to hear the Lindseys had put it into hiatus, but happy it’s reopening under local ownership. It’s a great location that deserves more credit than I think it gets.