The Pit and the Peel in Richmond opens second location in Carytown.
Since the opening of its Main Street flagship in Richmond in 2015, The Pit and the Peel has been popular among food-goers, particularly Virginia Commonwealth University students, professors and neighboring professionals. And community support, according to location manager Barbra Jones, is what led to the opening of a second location in Carytown in June.
“That’s what got us fast,” says Jones. “The fact that these kids had [only] so many minutes in between classes—that’s really what perfected us is VCU.”
The juice bar and bistro offers a menu of healthy wraps, salads, house-made soups, and quinoa bowls, all made with the freshest ingredients and with no added sugar. Coffee beans and loose leaf teas are sourced locally from Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Co. and Rostov’s Coffee & Tea.
But perhaps the biggest draw are The Pit and the Peel’s açai bowls.The popular House Bowl combines an açai, banana, peanut butter and almond milk smoothie with chia seeds, dark chocolate chips, sliced banana, granola and a generous scoop of peanut butter. (Spoon, anyone?)
Additional offerings include the Bees Knees (coconut, banana, granola, honey, bee pollen) and Peanut Butter Jelly Time. In addition, The Pit and the Peel staff exercise creative control over the creation of new açai bowl combinations, which has resulted in a large social media presence for the growing juice bar and bistro. The bistro’s Instagram account frequently posts images of tasty staff creations, earning an average of 200 likes per post.
“Our açai bowls are always on Instagram. There is rarely a day that goes by that somebody isn’t taking a picture of one,” says Jones.
The hubbub of Carytown seems to fit well with The Pit and the Peel’s culture, their vibrant orange umbrellas a complement to Cary Street’s intimate bustle.
“I love the community atmosphere and I love the small business vibe. I love how everybody helps everybody. [When we opened] so many people came down just to say ‘Hey, we’re glad you’re our neighbor, nice to meet you, ’” says Jones of the new location. “It’s just such a little cool community and we fit in perfectly, so it’s been great.” Facebook.com/ThePitAndThePeel
The Pit and the Peel owner Craig Brosius will open a third location at the James Center in downtown Richmond in early 2018. Additional locations around Richmond are also being planned.
