Richmond’s Get Tight Lounge

Pit beef and live music in Richmond.

Christopher McGough

“Fresh local beef cooked over charcoal, sliced thin, served on a house-made roll, topped with paper-thin onion, horseradish, Duke’s mayo, and homemade Get Tight Sauce.” This Baltimore-style pit beef sandwich is the center of Get Tight Lounge’s menu, explains co-owner Drew Schlegel. 

Schlegel opened the Richmond spot with Randy O’Dell last summer. “We wanted to curate a fast-casual restaurant with a large patio to host live music and events while offering a unique style of food to locals, VCU students, and our friends in the Fan,” says Schlegel. 

The menu includes Smithfield pit ham, pit turkey, and veggie “pit beet” (charcoal-smoked beets) sandwiches, as well as fries, chili, soups, and salads. The inside has a “cozy, retro-futuristic vibe,” says Schlegel, and the outside features a patio stage for a “backyard party feel.” Schlegel says they plan to open up the front of the building with roll-up, garage-style windows and add more bar seating, aiming for a Broadway in Nashville or Beale Street in Memphis feel.

April 23, 2025

Chesterfield Towne Center Carnival

Chesterfield Towne Center
April 23, 2025

2025 VCUarts MFA Thesis Exhibition Opening (Ongoing)

Institute for Contemporary Art