Brave Captain, the new restaurant in part of old Mojo’s building, sets sail on Cary

Brave Captain is the latest concept from the owners of Cobra Cabana. (Mike Platania photos)

Another new restaurant has set sail in the old Mojo’s Philadeli building. 

Brave Captain opened last week in part of Mojo’s former building at 729 W. Cary St. near VCU.

Behind the nautical-themed restaurant are Herbie Abernethy and Josh Novicki, owners of Cobra Cabana and Hot For Pizza in Carver, as well as a few spots in North Carolina, including The Sandspur in Carolina Beach. 

The duo said the name Brave Captain came from a song by 1980s rock band Firehose and was initially pitched as a name for The Sandspur. After The Sandspur won out, Abernethy and Novicki held onto the Brave Captain name and concept, which Abernethy said they have a hard time describing. 

“Everybody kept asking what kind of food we have and I don’t want to say seafood. We sort of combined the idea for Cobra and (The Sandspur). It’s basically pub food that has a lean toward seafood things,” Abernethy said. “We thought it was such a tough name for a place down by the beach.”

The new restaurant and bar opened in the old Mojo’s building.

Its menu is headlined by a sailor sandwich ($16) that includes a vegan option ($18). Also on the menu is clam chowder, crab dip and Old Bay steak fries, and its drinks menu includes a Dark ‘N Stormy cocktail and a variety of beers starting at $3. Abernethy said they’ll have rotating menu specials, and Novicki said it’ll have the same “cheap booze and good food” that their other spots have come to be known for.

Brave Captain has seating for 25 and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. 

A year after Mojo’s ended its long run in 2020, the building sold for just shy of $800,000. The owners, a group led by a Fredericksburg-based doctor, renovated the space and leased it out to the Padilla family, the same folks behind Amigos Family Restaurant near Willow Lawn. 

The Padillas were set to occupy the entire 3,300-square-foot commercial space with two concepts.  Tito’s Taqueria & Bar opened on one side as planned, but the family’s second concept, breakfast spot La Fe Cafe, fell through earlier this year. The Brave Captain crew took over the 1,200-square-foot space in the summer. It was once Mojo’s to-go area, and prior to that was home to Bandito’s Diablo Room music venue. 

Abernethy and Novicki have at least one other concept in the works: a “listening bar” in Carver called Space Mountain Hi-Fi set to open in a building behind Cobra Cabana. In September, City Council approved a special-use permit for that venture, and Novicki said construction on Space Mountain began in recent days.