Cassie Whitney has always wanted to own her own restaurant. Today, her hope comes true with the opening of Fox’s Ordinary, located at 7816 Richmond Road.
Whitney is originally from Maryland, but moved to the area with her husband about 29 years ago. She grew up living behind a deli, and both her parents and grandparents had a restaurant.
“I figured I’d be crazy enough to do it myself,” she joked.
In addition to her family history, Whitney has been in the catering business for quite some time. Her company, Williamsburg Concession & Catering Co., began by selling concessions nine years ago and evolved into a catering venture a year or two later.
Williamsburg Concession & Catering Co. will continue, but now will be based out of the restaurant. Its concession trailer on wheels will remain around as well.
Whitney called cooking a passion, and said she was looking forward to serving friends and other local people.
“I think the majority of our business is going to come from the business sector,” she explained. That’s why Fox’s Ordinary will be open Monday through Friday, operating on Saturday just through the end of December. On all days, service will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The restaurant will offer lunch fare of burgers, sandwiches, soup and salad. Whitney said her catering business is known for its crab cakes and barbeque, which will be fixed on the menu along with chicken salad. She’s also hoping to have a couple specials each day.
This is the third restaurant to fill this Toano spot in the last two years. The location of Fox’s Ordinary used to house Antonio’s, an Italian Restaurant, and before that Dudley’s Farmhouse and Grill. It was once the Silver Maple Café. Whitney is hoping to recreate the “sweet” feeling of the Silver Maple—nice, warm and local.
Whitney will be running the kitchen, and her son Kirk Whitney will be managing the restaurant portion of the business as general manager. That entails handling the day-to-day demands of the facility, managing the serving staff and advertising.
“It’s everything from taking customers’ orders to making sure that food’s in stock to making sure that everybody’s happy when they leave,” he explained.
The staff will be small, Kirk said – with about five employees to start, with the possibility of expanding – but enough to accomplish Fox’s Ordinary’s needs.
Kirk also has a long history in the service industry, starting at age 12, working at a bed and breakfast and more recently as an assistant manager at a Domino’s Pizza in the area.
“I just fell in love with seeing people’s reactions when you give them something that they’re never seen before,” he said.
The name Fox’s Ordinary comes from the history of Toano. The crossroads of Richmond and Old Forge Roads was known as “Fox’s Ordinary” before the Revolutionary War, after an ordinary (an inn to serve travelers) there that was owned by Benjamin Fox.
“It just had a little bit of history that we thought was really neat,” Cassie Whitney said.
For more information on Fox’s Ordinary, visit the website for Williamsburg Concession & Catering Co., or call 566-4015.
