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COURTESY VCU ATHLETICS
JANUARY
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ON THE REBOUND A new era of Rams basketball is underway in Richmond By Adam Cheek
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FIRE WORKS A sense of camaraderie and a burning passion to help others is all part of the job for local firefighters By Laura Anders Lee
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THE CRIME OF PUNISHMENT Reform advocates call for stronger oversight of Virginia’s prison system By Dale M. Brumfield
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and the federal Freedmen’s Bureau. The project originated in the buildings of the pre-liberation “Hell’s Half Acre” operated by slave trader Robert Lumpkin. The staff and students raised funds and undertook repairs for the old hotel and eventually received its charter. The school eventually evolved into Virginia Union University. Also in 1876, the Virginia Constitutional Convention, following the directives of Congress, convened. Federal judge and “Radical Republican” John Curtiss Underwood chaired the convention and favored universal suffrage for white and Black men — and white women. The far-reaching “Underwood Constitution,” implemented with great controversy, gave voting rights to white and Black men but not women. The document supported a public education system, redistributed taxes and made discrimination in jury selection illegal. The Readjuster Party (1879-83), led by the mercurial William Mahone, a former Confederate general and dynamic railroad executive, also arose in Virginia during this period. The Readjusters advocated for a “readjustment” of the state’s pre-Civil War public debt — proposing a slower rate of repayment at a lower rate of interest. Virginia could then afford needed improvements to public education and infrastructure. The party encouraged cross-racial fusion voting and through patronage placed Blacks into state offices. It’s unclear whether Mimms’ political involvement stemmed from Readjuster connections. Readjusters were elected governor, to both U.S. Senate seats and to six of the state’s 10 seats in Congress. Three state senators and 11 delegates were Black. Among their achievements, the Readjusters organized Black institutions of higher learning, including the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (later Virginia State University) near Petersburg. John Mercer Langston, born in Louisa
County as a free Black man of mixed race and a graduate of Oberlin College, was appointed as Virginia Normal’s president. He’d already founded the Howard University School of Law, from which Mimms graduated. Langston, great uncle of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, in 1888 became Virginia’s first Black representative to Congress, though he’d spend 18 months demonstrating that he’d won the seat. He ultimately served only six months of his term and lost his next election due to a shift in Virginia’s politics. The Readjusters largely got what they wanted without quite knowing what to do next. This, paired with Mahone’s temperament and the vehement enmity of their political rivals, caused the party’s almost- overnight collapse. Prior to a critical election, a street fracas in Danville that left five dead was blamed on the Readjusters for encouraging Blacks not to show deference to whites. Following this came the inexorable strengthening of racist policies and, by 1902, the enshrining of Jim Crow into the Constitution of Virginia. When Mimms died at age 74 on June 30, 1932, his mo¡o was inscribed on his headstone in the First Baptist Church of Midlothian’s cemetery: “We Must Follow The Right Paths To Arrive At The Right Place.” In Mimms’ honor, Chesterfield on Dec. 17, 2002, changed the name of West Krause Road on the county government complex. The Mimms Drive dedication plaque extolls him as “a man who took the right road, a friend, a neighbor, a husband and father, loved by all.” In the fall of 2016, the Chesterfield Historical Society’s African American
Cornelius Mimms
History Commi¡ee presented a temporary Mimms exhibit at the Chesterfield County Museum. In October 2023, the historical society unveiled the county museum’s first permanent African American exhibit, titled “Cornelius Mimms — A Trailblazer.” R Flashback gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Liessvan der Linden-Brusse of the Chesterfield Historical Society, Chesterfield County Museum curator Pat Roble and Audrey Ross, Midlothian Baptist’s historian and a member of the historical society’s African American History Committee.
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TEQUITIA ANDREWS
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R•HEALTH
A Virginia Commonwealth University professor works to fight inequalities in public health BY KE VIN JOHNSON
nika Hines is stressed about stress. As an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Population Health, Hines works to learn what stresses out different groups, classes and communities. “People tell me not to study stress, because stress is hard. It’s complicated and very individual,” she says. But looking into stress, and how that impacts the health of hundreds of thousands of people, could help improve health equity and design solutions to combat the illnesses she’s been around her whole life. Hines, in collaboration with researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the University of Alabama and other institutions, recently shared findings that show how stress from living conditions can worsen the disparity between heart health in racial groups. Published in September in the JAMA Network Open medical journal, the study investigates how stress over neighbor-
hood safety, quality, social interactions and discrimination connects to higher instances of cardiovascular risk factors and disease. It finds that Black adults who face more stress from those living conditions have poorer health outcomes than white adults. With a Ph.D. in health policy, Hines mostly works on the big picture, but her interest in health inequity started young and close to home. “It seemed to me, as a child, that Black people had shorter, sicker lives than other groups,” she says. “There’s a term called ‘resilience’ that people always say, ‘Oh you know, Black people are resilient to mental health conditions.’ I was wondering, if we’re so resilient, then why do we have these terrible health outcomes? “Since then, the research question has sort of remained the same but become refined through my training and acquired skills,” Hines says. After entering academia, Hines’ youthful observations were clarified by population health research that shows
how disparities in health across races, genders and other social groupings are impacted by differences in health systems and treatments. Hines saw research like this as her opportunity to change the world around her. “I thought, ‘Hey, if I could influence policy, then I could change communities, and I could change some of these broader issues that were affecting not just my family, but other families like and unlike mine,’” Hines says. In Virginia and many states in the U.S., cardiovascular diseases have been a leading cause of death for years across ages, sexes and races. Risk factors for these diseases are equally common; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about half of all Americans have at least one of three major risk factors for heart disease. Cardiologists measure someone’s risk for heart disease by eight key behaviors that are familiar to anyone who’s had a general checkup: eating well, exercising, not smoking tobacco, sleeping well and
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LIVING
Surviving in the ‘ Sandwich Generation’ Caregivers for older and younger generations face burnout in a unique way By Joan Tupponce
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hannon K. often juggles helping her teenage son with his homework and taking care of her fatherin-law who is 93 and living with advanced Parkinson’s disease. Her 88-year-old mother-in-law also lives with the family. A Richmond-area parent who didn’t give her full name because she is speaking candidly about her family, Shannon is part of the sandwich generation, people in the middle of two generations who care for both their older relatives and their own families. “Caregiving for anyone has its challenges, but when we talk about the sandwich generation, there are some additional challenges they may face,” says Rachel
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Lawson, senior program manager for the Greater Richmond Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Balancing the tasks and needs between the generations, managing a caregiving role while still working, caregiver burnout and other challenges.” Shannon admits that being a caregiver has affected her life. “It does get to the point that I have to stop and remind myself how lucky we are,” she says. “However, I do have my moments where I have to vent to others in similar situations, because if you don’t live it, you don’t know it.” Caregiving can strain relationships and impact the entire family. “Caregiver burnout is real, and many caregivers struggle with it every day,” Lawson says. She suggests that caregivers practice
self-care, seek out support and maintain communication. “It can be hard to take the first step to get support or even ask for help, but it’s important that the caregiver does so to best help them.” Beyond the personal strain, caregivers are typically responsible for complex legal, medical and financial processes that Lawson says are often best handled with professional help. “There are agencies who are there to assist families with completing these complex situations,” she says. “For Medicare, contact a local insurance agency or a broker who knows all about Medicare plans. For any kind of legal documents, such as estate planning, it is recommended that you contact an elder law attorney to help with those processes.” Caregivers can also benefit from support available through the Virginia Association of Area Agencies on Aging, AARP or the National Institute on Aging. Other resources include AARP Family Caregiving, the National Alliance for Caregiving and the Caregiver Action Network. Individuals caring for someone with Alzheimer’s can contact the Alzheimer’s Association (800-272-3900) or use the online Community Resource Finder (communityresourcefinder.org) to locate dementia care resources. Adult day programs, in-home assistance and meal delivery are just a few of the services that can help caregivers manage daily tasks. “Don’t go it alone,” says Dee Caras, a caregiver support specialist at Richmond’s Senior Connections. “Begin having open discussions with family about elder care plans and preferences and have them often. Know it is just as important to be a good care receiver as it is a good caregiver – meaning make this role easier for those trying to assist.” Shannon stresses that the most important thing is carving out personal time. “This can be the absolute hardest one to do, but it is so important,” she says. “Even just taking a few minutes to escape and have those few minutes to yourself is truly beneficial.” R
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LIVING
Blockade Runner Beach Resort sunset cruise
rooms, a ground-floor 3-bedroom garden apartment and a 13-bedroom beach cottage adjacent to the property, this hotel has accommodations to fit any group.
TRAVEL
The Big Chill Wrightsville Beach in winter provides a different kind of beach vacation By Kari Smith
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land at the same familiar Outer Banks, North Carolina destination each summer. I eat at the same restaurants, shop at the same shops, book the same dolphin tour and visit the same attractions year after year. Breaking tradition can feel uncomfortable for me, but staying in my silo of routines makes it difficult for me to discover new things. That’s why visiting Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, in the offseason — with smaller crowds, shorter waits and unobstructed beach views — was eye-opening. A four-hour drive from Richmond, Wrightsville Beach’s waterfront feels more like a private tropical island than a popular tourist spot. The palm trees and lush plant life were more abundant, the sand was whiter, the water bluer, and the shells easier to find. To be fair, it’s all in
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what you’re looking for. If you’re a fan of mini golf and go-karts, a Starbucks drive-through and a Super Wings on every corner, this is not the place for you. Instead, Wrightsville Beach has a small-town feel, with a main road that winds past gorgeous homes, busy walking and biking trails, and locally-owned shops.
STAY My trip’s home base was Blockade Runner Beach Resort, central enough to comfortably walk or bike to most destinations. Though I have always rented houses at the beach, I was pleasantly surprised at how a hotel stay could enhance my experience. Blockade Runner’s outdoor space is divine and includes colorful gardens, well-placed hammocks, private cabanas and cozy fire pits. With sound-facing and oceanfront balcony
You don’t have to go far for an impressive dinner; the service and food at the hotel’s East Oceanfront Dining restaurant were convenient and incredible. Try the fresh Atlantic sea scallops with corn puree, steakhouse bacon, roasted tomatoes and a brown butter emulsion to understand why some say seafood is best on the coast. Fish House Grill offers a more laidback waterfront dining experience suitable for kids and groups. South Beach Grill presents locally sourced, farm-to-table recipes; beautiful, flavorful food; and a casually upscale atmosphere. They serve thoughtful Southern-inspired dishes like their buttermilk frites and pork belly appetizer. Dinner at Ceviche’s was so satisfying that I returned for lunch on my way out of town. Though they have a variety of Panamanian dishes, my fave was El Quatro — a sampling of four of their classic ceviches. The Workshop is a great local option for an elevated breakfast, along with coffee and smoothies. While there, peruse the jaw-dropping display of fossil jewelry crafted from shark (mako, great white and tiger) and megalodon teeth made by shop owner Audrey Longtin, a Canadian native who visited Wrightsville Beach and never left. For drinks or nightlife, check out the beach bar vibes and live music at The
Ceviche’s
FROM LEFT: COURTESY BLOCKADE RUNNER BEACH RESORT; COURTESY CEVICHE’S; COURTESY VISITNC.COM
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A sense of camaraderie and a burning passion to help others is all part of the job for local firefighters By Laura Anders Lee
More than 2,200 professional and volunteer firefighters protect the citizens, homes and businesses of the greater Richmond region. Answering 190,000 calls each year, they battle structure, brush and automobile fires and respond to medical emergencies, working between calls to keep themselves and their equipment in top shape so they’re ready to come to the rescue at a moment’s notice.
PHOTO BY JAY PAUL
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although she’s just 5 feet, 1 inch tall, she’s unintimidated on volunteers. About 70% of all fire departments in the United States are mostly comprised of volunteers. This is by hard work and heavy li ing. “I think all of the females the case in Powhatan County, where 90% of the firefighters on our team are proving to ourselves we can do this, even and EMTs serving a population of 31,000 are volunteers. though it’s a man world,” she says. “There are a lot of amazPowhatan County has received two federal grants to ing female firefighters. One of my fellow firefighters and friends is a retired UPS driver, and she can run ensure the department’s five fire stations and three circles around the younger kids.” rescue squads are well staffed. The career fire Breon is not an EMT but she is a firechief for Powhatan County, Phil Warner, says the grants have allowed the departfighter certified by the state of Virginia. ment to hire a recruitment and retenThe first year, she completed more tion coordinator, leading to more effithan 260 hours of training, passing Powhatan cient training and a steady stream the Firefighter I and II classes and volunteer of volunteer applications — around the hazmat course. firefighter Brenda In 2022, Powhatan County Fire five to 10 each month. Breon & Rescue responded to more than While volunteers must earn the same certificates as a paid 3,400 calls, most of which were medifirefighter or EMT, the training cal. The team responded to 126 fires process is less formal in Powha— largely backyard brush fires that tan than in Henrico County or Richgot out of hand, according to Warner. mond. “They don’t pass a physical test Powhatan County is running several like the [Candidate Physical Ability Test], innovative programs to recruit fire and just a physical,” says Warner, who has served 26 years as a volunteer and professional firefighter. “Over Fighting fires requires skill and strength; a the course of the first year, we like 35-foot extension ladder the new folks to have enrolled in weighs 122 pounds. or completed a Firefighter I and II class or an EMT class. We know they are volunteers with families and careers who might need to do things at a slower pace.” When Brenda Breon relocated from California to Virginia for a job at the age of 46, she enlisted as a volunteer firefighter in her off time. Ten years later, she’s serving as president of Powhatan’s Company 1 as well as the county fire association. “We’re just like paid firefighters, except we do it for free,” she says. “All of us have paid jobs during the day and go on duty nights, weekends and holidays.” Breon has the heart of a volunteer, whether she’s going on rescue missions or playing the role of Mrs. Claus in the department’s annual Santa Run. She is one of 90 female volunteers, who compose a third of the force in Powhatan. And
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rescue personnel. In the Junior Emergency Technician program, children ages 12-15 are invited to learn about fire and rescue service, leadership, and teamwork. Powhatan High School offers the Firefighter I course through its career and technical education program. “A lot of our young men and women have used our volunteer program to springboard into career departments like Chesterfield, Henrico and Richmond,” Warner says. One of Henrico County’s recruits, Gray Chambliss, started volunteering for Goochland County Fire-Rescue when he was just 15 years old. A er earning a college degree and working for a few years, Chambliss gravitated toward a firefighting career. He says the experience he gained in his youth gave him a foundation for his fire academy training. “In the volunteer world, there’s more of a need for firefighters,” Chambliss says. “In the career world, there were hundreds of other people who applied for my job, so I’ve really had to learn and push myself.”
Ongoing Training and Teamwork Despite the stereotypes, firefighters are not sitting around, playing poker and eating chili — and between responding to fiery wrecks, burning buildings, medical emergencies and false alarms, they don’t have time to rescue cats from trees. Whether career or volunteer, fire and rescue teams must stay in shape, learn new skills and earn annual accreditations. “You have to use your downtime to make sure your craft is still good,” Bartal says. “Education is one thing, but experience is how you improve and know what to do when the time comes.” Breon continues to take as many classes as she can, from tying knots to rescuing large animals. Just two weeks after completing a farm machinery extraction course, she put her skills to use when a Powhatan County farmer got his clothing tangled in a fence post auger that was attached to a tractor. They got him out and loaded him into a med flight for treatment at a nearby hospital. Doug Clevert, Henrico County’s deputy fire chief of community risk reduction, says firefighters are required to work out for an hour each day, keep supplies in stock, and clean and maintain equipment. “From the time we come to work at 7 in the morning and leave at 7 at night, we are working,” he says. Clevert, who’s been with the City of Richmond and Henrico County fire departments for 17 years collectively, says the long shifts and teamwork required of the job create bonds among the firefighters. “We do everything together,” he says. “We go grocery shopping together, eat dinner together, spend holidays together. We coach each other’s kids’ sports teams and watch them grow up. You spend a third of your life with your fire family.” Chambliss says camaraderie is one of the reasons he was drawn to a career in fire and rescue. Despite the dangers of the job, you’re never in it alone. “It’s the friendships and brotherhood that you build — everybody looks out for each other, on and off shi s.” R
JAY PAUL
Departments from around the region practice at the Henrico Fire Training Center.
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overall health and specific health needs in a timely manner.” Medical and behavioral health care got so deficient at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women that inmates in 2012 filed Sco v. Clarke, a class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia claiming that the substandard care was cruel and unusual. The suit was se led in 2016 with 22 terms of compliance. According to a 2017 Washington Post story, however, delays in implementing those terms resulted in the deaths of two inmates — 70-year-old Carolyn Liberto and 38-year-old Deanna Niece — in July 2017. An April 2022 inspection found Fluvanna compliant in all but two of the court-imposed standards, although VADOC disputed those findings. Compounding prison health care problems are the chronic staffing shortages. At the tribunal, a family member read a letter by inmate Nathaniel Lamb, who was being held in the Sussex II prison for kidnapping and sexual assault. “In here you see neglect at its most severe state. You have to kick the door for a man who is having a heart a ack, for he is in a cell where the intercom doesn’t work. … The next fight is finding a nurse due to shortness of staff. You see stabbings of the week stitching themselves up, because there is nowhere to go. … It’s prisoners who notify staff of overdoses or seizures. It’s
CARSON MCNAMARA
Johnson claims that in October 2021 an examination showed he had extremely elevated prostate-specific antigens. He says that the Nottoway Correctional Center delayed follow-ups for six months. He eventually received an MRI and a biopsy at VCU Health in May 2022, and on July 1 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. In February 2023, Johnson explains that his doctor ordered his meds, but he contends they were never distributed to him. Then in late March, his treatment plan abruptly changed from a series of oral medications and injections to 40 grueling sessions of external radiation. He says officials pressured him to sign a consent form acknowledging that the treatment may not cure his cancer and that there could be serious side effects. “I had to sign the form as a condition to receiving any treatment at all,” he wrote. On Oct. 30, just a er completing his radiation sessions, VADOC transferred Johnson from Sussex I to Red Onion’s so-called “B-3 torture unit,” a name coined by the inmates of B-building, who contend that the cells are filthy. The Wise County prison is in a part of far western Virginia where there are no major medical facilities. He says his referrals for cardiology and urology appointments were canceled and Sussex I did not send his medical records. “The move [to Red Onion] was to block my seeking treatment for ongoing serious health problems,” Johnson alleges in a le er. “Not just side effects from the daily radiation treatment I recently underwent for several months, but symptoms consistent with congestive heart failure, for which VADOC and [Sussex I] medical officials refuse to allow any diagnostic testing or treatment.” Seligman, who has corresponded with Johnson for over 15 years, says that during his incarceration he has been shu led from Virginia to Oregon, Texas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and back to Virginia. “This man stands up for himself and for other prisoners,” she says. “[VADOC] wants not just to get rid of him, but to get him to die.” When asked about the charges, VADOC said in an emailed statement: “The VADOC Health Services Unit can confirm that the patient is receiving care addressing his
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“[VADOC] wants not just to get rid of him, but to get him to die.”
have a problem, and they need help. Essentially following the advice of the video. “These women, brave and wanting change, are being met with indifference, humiliation and punitive responses,” the email continues. “Some are being tested over and over again, racking up [monetary] charges and upping their security levels (losing good time) simply because they asked for help. Some are ge ing their rooms ran[sacked] and being antagonized. … They are angered, hurt, scared and now moved to action because they are being promised something by the department that just doesn’t exist.” In March, VADOC reported numerous initiatives to reduce the flow of drugs, including body scanners to detect contraband on visitors, photocopying mail, pocketless jumpsuits for inmates and utilizing narcotic detection canine teams. Responding to an inquiry on how addicted inmates can seek treatment, a VADOC spokesman referenced a press release announcing the $1.2 million received in October from the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority to fund three projects addressing drug use: hiring six specialized social workers to conduct therapy, evaluating the effectiveness of specific agonists and creating a video that highlights the available treatment options.
—CAROLE SELIGMAN, PRISON RIGHTS ADVOCATE, REFERRING TO INMATE KEVIN “RASHID” JOHNSON
prisoners who are the first responders and render first aid with no medical training.”
A SERIOUS DRUG PROBLEM On Nov. 2, VADOC locked down Greensville Correctional in Jarra for almost 20 days following the deaths of six inmates in five months, with three from drug overdoses. During the lockdown, searches turned up heroin, cocaine, steroid tablets, 1.5 ounces of meth, almost 150 Suboxone strips, 15 grams of waxy THC oil, two doses of LSD and 10 grams of fentanyl — equivalent to 5,000 lethal doses. The searches also yielded 21 homemade weapons and 10 cellphones, among other contraband. On June 15, 2019, eight Haynesville Correctional Center inmates overdosed in the recreation yard on a drug dubbed “spice,” a synthetic compound that mimics THC. Seven of the men recovered. The eighth died, allegedly only 30 days from release. VADOC reports that between 2016 and 2022 there were 417 drug overdose incidents, with 33 resulting in deaths. The sources of the drugs are disputed, although there are three basic routes: in the mail, through visits and through corrections personnel. Even a er strip-searching children, banning menstruating women from wearing tampons and stopping all visitation during the COVID-19 pandemic, drugs still flowed freely inside the walls. VADOC reports that from Jan. 1 to Sept. 15, 2023, it intercepted 119 pieces of mail containing “suspected substances” without identifying exactly what those substances were. Because of the pervasive drug crisis, VADOC started offering assistance to inmates fighting addictions that many of them acquired a er entering prison. However, according to inmates, videos loaded onto their electronic tablets encouraging them to seek help and promising programs and counseling are nothing but a cruel form of bait and switch. One female inmate from Goochland County says in a personal email that “because this institution (along with many others) is heavily saturated with substances, there are a significant number of women who are addicted and actively seeking help. They are telling the staff that they
PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN A legacy of secrecy shrouds procedures and policies behind the walls of Virginia’s prisons. In March, an inmate at the Fluvanna center took her own life and her body went undiscovered for four hours. “No one from Fluvanna has reached out to me with anything, not even an update on an alleged investigation,” writes the woman’s daughter in a personal email. “So I’m basically trying to do all this on my own.” The tribunal seeks to lift the opaque layers of confidentiality surrounding the inner workings of the prison system and expose them to the legislature and especially to the public. According to Wilayto, the only way to guarantee that the government, as well as the prison system, do the right thing is through constant public pressure. “It was the Black Lives Ma er protests of 2020 that forced some changes in the prison and criminal (in)justice systems,” he says in a wri en statement. “Our hope is that the People’s Tribunal on Virginia’s Prisons, Jails and Detention Centers will be able to provide that kind of mass pressure. “Lives depend on it, as does our own integrity.” R
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EAT&DRINK
INSIDER
GENERATIONAL WEALTH The family behind Nile restaurant finds a new way to share Ethiopian cuisine By Eileen Mellon naturally healthy, nourishing foods. The Yeshi has always been feeding others. path to this point has been a delicately When she first came to the U.S. from Ethiand organically timed debut. opia in 1982, it was her co-workers. “My “I’m going back in my emails and recipe whole freezer was full of small containers collections, and we have been thinking filled with stew, lentils and different variabout this since 2011,” Yeshi says with a eties of Ethiopian food, and I would gentle smile. deliver to my colleagues. They’d order on Soft-spoken Yeshi, 76, downplays her Fridays, injera and stews.” she says. many culinary accomplishments. Her A mother of six, she moved often during her career with various arms of sons fill in the gaps with details that she the United Nations, spending time in humbly leaves out, from their mother’s Africa; North Korea; New York; Grand extensive study of macrobiotics and natural healing, to her previous experience as Rapids, Michigan; Colorado; Fargo, North the owner of a Madison, Wisconsin, Dakota; and Wisconsin. restaurant. The brothers say that they Not long after Yeshi and Natan moved realized her innate tenacity, and cooking to Richmond, when Benyam and Yoseph skills, at an early age. were living in Wisconsin, their brother “At the Ethiopian Orthodox church we called and encouraged them to come, too. were a part of in Harlem [New York], they Looking for an opportunity to return to the East Coast, the twins took a chance would rotate taking turns cooking for and joined their family. after service, and that’s when we “We’ve always been family knew. The biggest turnouts would Upon launch, Nile Kitchen will sell be the days our mom was cookoriented,” Yoseph says. “Six weeks frozen foods and ing,” Yoseph says. later, we were here, and there was meals in stores
JUSTIN CHESNEY
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f you ask Yeshareg “Yeshi” Teklemariam about the success of her venerable family business, she’ll say, “We were blessed from the very beginning.” Nearly 20 years ago, the matriarch of the Teklemariam family relocated to Richmond from Madison, Wisconsin, with her son Natan to take over an Ethiopian eatery on Laurel Street owned by her cousin. They dropped “Blue” from the name to signify new ownership and introduced Nile. A year later, her youngest sons, twins Benyam and Yoseph, followed. In 2013, Natan, an instrumental part of the restaurant’s growth, left the business to pursue graduate studies while his brothers and mother stayed on. Since, the restaurant has evolved into a beloved Richmond mainstay, known for its warm service, soul-soothing Ethiopian comfort food and housemade injera flatbread. After nearly two decades in business, Nile will close its doors on Jan. 7, its 18th anniversary. But it won’t be the last time the Teklemariams will share their misir wat (spiced red lentil stew) or gomen (slow-cooked collard greens spiked with onions, ginger and garlic) with eager diners. In the coming months, the trio will introduce a line of packaged and frozen Ethiopian meals under the name Nile Kitchen. “We’re ready for the new model to allow us to engage with Richmond differently,” Yoseph says. Working out of local commissary space Hatch Kitchen, their vision is for Ethiopian food to be as ubiquitous as pizza and pints of ice cream in the freezer section and to supply shoppers with
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