Your place for a Philly. Voted Second Best Sandwich Spot in Richmond 2023. Damn good hoagies, pool table, citywide specials all day, craft-ish cocktails, good people and good times. C’mon.

Before opening, Kohler and Epps, co-owner of Cobra Burger, trekked north for further edible R&D, paying the godfathers of hoagies a visit in hopes of capturing the nostalgic, no-frills magic of those sandwich institutions and replicating it here in Richmond.

“It’s the best food city in America,” declares Kohler of Philadelphia. “It’s this amazing melting pot, but in this kind of no-bulls—, no-nonsense way. There’s a lot of attitude, but there’s a lot of pride.”

During their trip, the Stanley’s duo called on all the hoagie heavy hitters, ordering a seeded Italian from Cosmi’s Deli, founded in 1932; visiting the iconic cash-only John’s Roast Pork; grabbing a slice of tomato pie from fifth-generation Sarcone’s Bakery, in business more than a century; devouring cheesesteaks from respected newbie Angelo's Pizzeria; and hitting up Reading Terminal for roast pork and beef from Tommy DiNic’s.

“They’re not really menus that need to change … and that’s what makes spots like that great,” Kohler says.  

Hoping to achieve longevity similar to the humble hoagie establishments they admire, Kohler and Epps knew they needed to find a space that felt seasoned and settled, channeling a little South Jersey — an ambiance that cannot be created, only discovered. It presented itself to them one day as they drove down Park Avenue. 

“I walked in immediately and was like, I love the space,” Kohler says of the former Robin Inn, which was shuttered last June after nearly 60 years in the Fan.

The rest is history.

Credit: Eileen Mellon/Richmond Magazine