Kickshaws Kitchen
It all began because Kathy Craddock wanted one-stop shopping for all of her family’s grocery needs.
Years ago, Craddock struggled with various health concerns, misdiagnoses and debilitating symptoms. At one point, she spent most of her days in bed. Numerous visits to doctors and specialists and a pile of prescriptions later, Craddock found some relief from her symptoms by making dietary changes. She transitioned her family to a gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free diet, and even after going to the Fredericksburg farmers market on Saturday mornings, she still had to drive to Richmond or Fairfax to finishing grocery shopping.
After leaving the market one day, “[I thought] it would be great if there was a market down here that had the rest of the stuff that we need,” Craddock says. Her husband responded, “You should do that!” So Craddock opened Kickshaws Downtown Market with local meats, organic milk, loose-leaf tea, bulk spices and grains, local peanut butter brand Sprelly’s, a small selection of fruits and vegetables, organic cleaning supplies and, of course, kombucha.
The market also started making bread and baked goods in-house (with gluten-, nut- and dairy-free options), as well as offering sandwiches and salads including vegan and vegetarian selections. While menu-testing, Craddock added a customizable waffle breakfast for Saturday mornings that had customers lined up around the block.
With the prepared foods becoming a bigger part of the market’s business, Craddock decided to expand, and this week she opened Kickshaws Kitchen, serving the same food as the market, plus new items like a soup of the day and a selection of burgers of barbecued jackfruit, veggie patties or grass-fed beef, with customizable toppings.
Furthering Kickshaws’ food-first mission, there are classes and workshops on fermentation, bone broth and DIY nut milk with plans to add canning classes. // Kickshaws Kitchen: 1002 Sophia St., Fredericksburg
Legume Kitchen and Bar
For years, chefs Raymond Renault and Justin Cunningham found themselves fielding requests for vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan and gluten-free cuisine. They compared notes, and before long, the seed for a plant-focused restaurant was sown. The team opened Legume Kitchen and Bar at the beginning of this month.
Fredericksburg diners may recognize those names: Renault is executive chef and owner of La Petite Auberge, and Cunningham was previously the chef at Spencer Devon Brewery and chef and owner of the now-shuttered Fizzlebottom’s Cafe. The two men met years ago when their wives introduced them.
The chefs acknowledge that Legume is a different type of restaurant, the sort that caters to people who want more options than what has been traditionally offered in Fredericksburg. “Diners are more educated … and want different experiences,” Renault says. Despite the fact that neither Renault nor Cunningham are vegetarians, vegans or pescatarians, they say their ability to collaborate allows them to meet the challenge of developing dishes, like crispy eggplant with spicy honey and goat cheese dip, quinoa pilaf-stuffed bell pepper with romesco sauce and monkfish with fava bean succotash and sweet corn puree. For a recent mid-week dinner special, Cunningham served red snapper atop black rice noodle ramen.
Renault admitted that La Petite regulars were a bit wary when they heard about the idea of opening a new plant- and fish-focused restaurant, but he’s confident they will come around. “Good food is good food,” he says. // Legume Kitchen and Bar: 715 Caroline St., Fredericksburg
