Pinned to the Back of Our City

BY JOSEPHINE VARNIER

Chili's Grand Opening on VCU Campus

BY JOSEPHINE VARNIER

The opening of a new Chili’s restaurant near Virginia Commonwealth University leads independent Richmond eateries to believe they have nothing to worry about.

Chili’s Sept. 19 grand opening at 355 West Cary Street has been long anticipated by VCU students. The restaurant, located in the Cary and Belvidere Residential College, is owned by VCU in commercial space that also includes a Starbucks and a convenience store.

The VCU campus has recently extended across Belvidere Street with the completion and opening of the new business building, Snead Hall, and the Brandcenter last January.

Before the newly opened Chili’s, most dining services were concentrated in certain areas on campus, not affecting the local restaurants and bars. However, even with the expanse of dining locations, not many restaurant owners are concerned.

“We’re not worried about it. It’s a whole different thing,” says Andrew Clarke, owner of 821 Café located at 821 West Cary Street. 821 Café is one of the nearest independent cafés to Chili’s that also includes a bar serving beer and wine.

“Richmond is a good city for independent restaurants,” Clarke continues. “Most people around here would go to a neighborhood spot over a Chili’s.”

Clarke has owned 821 Café since 1995, and the building is small, with an equally small staff that usually contains two to three workers on each shift.

Chili’s new building, on the other hand, is a large maze of tables and booths with a staff of 130 people.

Corporate trainers follow the wait staff to each table, shadowing their progress that will complete a nearly 10-day training session that includes coaching and role playing.

Many staff members have moved to Richmond from other states, including waiter William Bielefeldt from Ocean County, NJ. The trainer shadowing him, Misty Ryan, is from Texas.

Matthew Thompson, the general manager of the new chain restaurant, says “I don’t think it will [affect other businesses]. Most things here are generalized.”

Thompson adds that having a full bar on the VCU campus, “It definitely won’t affect the bars. If anything it will just bring people to the area.”

Bar disc jockey and dancer Rebecca Best agrees.

Best works in three different bars in the Shockoe Bottom area, all managed by the same owner, which includes Mars, Rocks and the newly opened Fallout.

“Many different bars downtown have different themes,” says Best. “Tucker’s [the owner] bars are more 80s, industrial and not like a family restaurant like Chili’s.

“Not many of the bars down here are, and although some are Irish pubs or concert halls, I really doubt any will lose any student customers they didn’t have before,” Best says of the effects of Chili’s on downtown bar popularity.

On what could be assumed to be one of Chili’s busiest days, with a waiting list and a full lobby, a 15 minute wait for a meal was cause for no bill at the end of lunch, with apologetic waiters and free nachos.

So with fast service and customer oriented training packed under their belts, what makes the 130 person Chili armada seem harmless to local businesses?

“I like independent over corporate restaurants because they have more character and I can usually find more people to relate to there,” says Sara Morton, a 25-year-old student at VCU. Some other Richmond locals feel the same way, keeping Clarke’s statements true.

Andrew Mowe, 2005 VCU graduate, has lived in Richmond for seven years and has similar feelings.

“By going to smaller restaurants I know I’m helping the community,” Mowe says. “In some cases you even know the people that own the place or work there and it’s like visiting, or helping out friends. It’s just a better atmosphere in my opinion.”

At 821 Café you enter through a screen door, passing windows plastered in band and art show fliers.

At Chili’s, a foyer contains pictures of VCU ram themes, where a host and server staff await you. Each of them has a walkie-talkie device clipped to their hip and they speak through small microphones attached to their ears.

Perhaps it’s easy to say local owners aren’t worried about the new competition because they know that being served by Richmond natives is preferred to being served by out-of-state robots.

Sources:

Andrew Mowe- (804) 938-2338

Sara Morton- (908) 752-1925

Andrew Clarke- (804) 649-1042

Matthew Thompson- (804) 828-8484

Rebecca Best- (571) 217-8603

James Klentzman Profile

BY JOSEPHINE VARNIER

In the bustling Shafer dining hall on the Virginia Commonwealth University campus sat James Klentzman, a third-year journalism student and amateur musician.

Over a burger and fries he spoke adamantly about Quentin Tarantino, whom Klentzman says has influenced his goal of becoming a Hollywood screenplay writer.

“I love how Tarantino admits that everything he does it not original but the composition of all of them is,” Klentzman says. “I like the idea of taking ideas from writers better than you and making an original composition.”

Klentzman has ideas for creations not yet borne, including a screenplay about the lives of three hit men who encounter their worst day. This story, he claims, has been his “brainchild for the past two years.”

Other genres of film he plans writing include indie, gangster, science fiction and samurai themes.

Klentzman describes himself as “parked diagonally in a parallel universe,” and answers “42” to the question of why he feels he is on this earth. His numerical response to a deep question is a reference to the book-made-film “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.”

Movies being something he normally quotes and creates, Klentzman claims himself to be a “pop trivia encyclopedia.”

Klentzman plans to create a rock and roll history discography that allows others to listen, contribute, analyze and critique.

“Music is going to play a big part in my movies. Every scene will have some importance in the music playing behind it,” Klentzman says of combining his favorite things – film and music.

When determining what genre he planned writing for, Klentzman says, “Reading every little detail that he [Tarantino] has included in every movie made me realize it was going to be film.”

James, whose full name is Nathaniel James Klentzman, was born on Nov. 25, 1987 in San Diego, Ca. Being that his father was a commander in the National Reserve, Klentzman attended 15 different schools while growing up. He arrived in Virginia in 2000. Klentzman moved to Richmond, Va. in 2006 in order to attend VCU.

“It was the best school that accepted me,” Klentzman said. “I came here to do journalism.” He also plans to major in political science so that he will have a field to fall back on.

Klentzman’s father, Chris Klentzman, tells his son, “Do what you want to do, not necessarily what will make you the most money,” when it comes to making important decisions for his future. “And I think he’s doing just that.”

When not writing or planning, Klentzman practices singing or playing the guitar and trumpet. He also is as a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity at VCU, and he claims to be “the voice of reason,” within the group of outcast male students in their chapter.

When asked about what part of his life that he compares to any of his screenplays, Klentzman describes the meeting and hanging out of his pledge brothers. The film, he said, would be “an interesting party movie,” including every character imaginable, “talking about bullshit all night until fights break out.”

After finishing his meal and the interview, Klentzman leaves campus to work with those pledging into Alpha Kappa Lambda this semester. He parts with a smile and a wave, before blending into of the crowd of hundreds of other VCU students.

Sources

Klentzman, father

Phone # 1-757-375-7166

Andrew Grant, friend of eight years

Phone # 1-757-560-5882