WILLIAMSBURG — Earlier this month, it was announced that two new restaurants — Ember and The Jewish Mother’s Deli — would be opening in Merchants Square at the former locations of La Piazza and Blackbird Bakery.
Both restaurants are owned by Sid Hall, president of the Historic Hospitality Group, as well as the current owner of Waypoint Seafood & Grill, Water Street Grille and Riverwalk Restaurant.
Ember is described as an American-Asian fusion restaurant that utilizes seafood, steak, and sushi, while The Jewish Mother’s Deli will offer bagels, corned beef, pastrami, smears, and some Jewish classics, such as matzah ball soup.
Hall chose the concept for The Jewish Mother’s Deli as a nod to his Jewish heritage, and says that the restaurant will be a counter-style grab-and-go restaurant to give guests at Colonial Williamsburg another option for sandwiches and quicker items.
Ember, he noted, is an opportunity to bring a different type of restaurant to Williamsburg — neither a standard seafood restaurant nor a steakhouse — and will offer a combination of the up-and-coming cuisine featured in bigger cities.
“This is my hometown. I was born and raised in Williamsburg, so to have an opportunity to open two places where people and families can come and have a fantastic time is extremely exciting for me, and I hope the community is excited as well,” Hall said.
Hall says the restaurant industry is in his blood. His grandfather owned a pizza restaurant in Lynchburg in the late ’70s, early ’80s. His great uncle had a restaurant in Newport News in the early ’80s, and when his grandfather moved to the area, he shifted into food sales. His mother was also involved in the food sales business for 36 years.
Hall interned at a food distributor when he was in college, and one of his first jobs was a server at a pancake house. He worked at a variety of businesses in the food supply chain before he joined Mario, the former owner of Waypoint Seafood & Grill and Water Street Grille, as his VP of operations. On his retirement, Hall purchased the restaurants, and he purchased and reopened Riverwalk Restaurant last year.
Currently, he plans to open both locations in the early fall.
To learn more about the restaurants, visit The Jewish Mother’s Deli and Ember websites.
