Kabana Rooftop’s head chef, Mike Ledesma, is set to open his first independent restaurant in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition neighborhood.
The restaurant will reflect Ledesma’s mastery of New American cuisine, drawing inspiration from his culinary travels as well as his Filipino culture.
“When you open a restaurant, you get to take full ownership of the menu and the path it’s going to take,” Ledesma said in a recent press release. “I like to have the ability to push culinary trends. When I play with food, I want it to be creative.”
Originally from Baltimore, Ledesma discovered his passion for the culinary arts while living in Oahu, Hawaii. After traveling back to the east coast, Ledesma moved to Richmond in 2011 to open the downtown Hard Shell location and in 2015 up until last month, he served at the helm of Richmond Restaurant Group (The Hard Shell, The Daily Kitchen & Bar, Pearl Raw Bar) as Corporate Executive Chef.
In August, he came on as Executive Chef for Kabana Rooftop, giving his own spin to their menu.
Top photo credit: Jess Aicholtz
Ledesma hopes to use his forthcoming restaurant to support local culinary schools and the Richmond community.
“It’s nice to put money back into the city,” Ledesma said. “Now, having a place to train, I want to give students a real world experience.”
The opening date for Ledesma’s restaurant is yet to be announced but it will be located at 2918 W. Broad St. which housed Chinese restaurant, Joy Garden for almost 60 years. And if the menu is anything like his creative and delicious dishes at Kabana, it’s going to be popular spot for sure.
