The Charlottesville 29

Another victim of COVID-19, the beloved Charlottesville institution Bluegrass Grill & Bakery announced this week that it has closed permanently. Below is the announcement from owner Chrissy Benninger. You can help show Benninger and her staff how much  Charlottesville will miss them. Share your memories on Facebook here or on Twitter here, and we will make sure all of the memories reach them.

“Hello, everyone!

It’s been a long six weeks…..

In the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to figure out how we can reopen Bluegrass. I’ve finally made a decision based on exhaustive research, hours and hours of conversations and running scenarios, numbers and possibilities.

The answer is…..we can’t.

I am officially and permanently closing The Bluegrass Grill and Bakery, in the incarnation that it is right now.

This was a very difficult and heartbreaking decision. I was in denial for weeks until a small group of people sat me down and talked to me about the reality of the situation. I knew all this. I wanted to give it one more shot. But….what they said had merit. They were right. Our viability was impossible.

Owning Bluegrass was a culmination of over 30 years of food service experience. I loved it and hated it. I poured every iota of mental and physical strength into keeping it running. I’ve met so many people I consider friends and family. I will miss them probably more than I will ever realize. I will miss being able to walk into Bluegrass and know that I was home. My heart hurts thinking about it.

Thank you to everyone who have graced our tables and allowed us to serve you. Thank you to all the people whom I have had the honor of working with.(We kicked some ass, didn’t we?) Thank you to Jim and Lalah Simcoe for hiring me, believing in me and letting me slowly buy into Bluegrass. Thank you to everyone who tolerated our growing pains and supported us while we blossomed into the best brunch place in Charlottesville. Thank you to everyone who donated in the past six weeks…..you really did save us and continue to.

And one very special thank you to my children….they worked with me, tolerated my exhaustion while I worked long, grueling hours. They grew up too fast, I think, watching me try to make Bluegrass as amazing as possible. They supported me through all of this, no matter what. They were the reason I did it. Aspen and Kyra…..I love you.