Richmond’s new Baltic Kiss Bar and Restaurant offers comfort Southern cuisine and live music

Built in 1904, Richmond’s historic Baltic building has served as a saloon, city hall, funeral home, speakeasy, ‘brothel’ and, more recently, a spice shop. But in this latest installment, reborn as Baltic Kiss, Black Star Pirate BBQ’s chef girlfriend Tony Carracci and partner Miss Suzie (formerly Suzie Vasco) have put their own stamp on the place, making the historic site full of art. transformed into restaurants, bars and entertainment. The venue offers home-cooked Southern cuisine accompanied by live music.

Carracci’s barbecue reputation is ahead of him as Richmond’s Black Star Pirates BBQ has become a popular destination during the pandemic. But he got his start as a chef at Haight’s Cha-Cha-Cha in the late 1980s, and Kat in the early 1990s, where he owned and operated clubs and eventually BBQs where he ran his truck before turning to points. He’s San Pablo, he’s Harbor.

With Baltic Kiss, Carracci expands the menu beyond what he’s known for at Black Star, incorporating more influences from his family’s native New Orleans. Expect a late-night menu that includes pairings of small plates and big, bold appetizers, plus house-made bacon and pastrami-infused sandwiches. The smaller plates included barbecued oysters, barbecued creole-style shrimp, cajun candy (candied pork belly), red beans and rice, andouille he sausage, corn he fritters, hash his puppies, jerk his Wings, etc. For larger dishes, look for shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, blackened redfish, braised pork chops, Cajun shrimp, po’ boys (shrimp, oysters, catfish), and bacon-topped pork and bacon-stuffed sandwiches. please. jam and coleslaw. “This is my comfort zone, so I decided to go that route,” he says Carracci. “And you don’t find much of that food around here, and you won’t find anything after 8pm.”

Baltic Kiss has a full bar housed in a gorgeous wooden back bar that was brought into the Baltic Sea before the 1906 earthquake. , many local wines of Lodi are mixed. Those looking for something stiffer can choose from a list of seasonal house cocktails or, as Carracci puts it, “pre-Prohibition classic cocktails with a Baltic Kiss twist.” Options include the Shake Tequila Cocktail, which mixes cilantro with jalapenos, agave, fresh watermelon juice, and tequila.

The space itself is about 118 years old, but its bones are strong. The early 1900s bar holds its weight for the changes Carracci and Miss Suzie made to transform the building into a viable entertainment space. For live music he has two stages, one inside and one planned on the back deck, with tables arranged inside and outside. There is also overflow seating and a second patio prepared for private parties. to paint rooms, hallways, and patios with bright, bold colors. Reupholstering sofas and seats. Hang the painting on the wall near the bar area.

It’s a fun, eclectic look that befits not just a music venue and restaurant, but the Carracci and Suzie and Richmond communities. “People have put so much love into this place and we are so loved,” Susie says. “There are so many people in our lives who do so much for us, which is great. A lot of people love this place and are so excited about us.”

balticis (135 Park Place, Richmond) debuts Friday, August 12, Wednesday and Thursday from 3pm to 1am, Friday and Saturday from 3pm to 2am, Sunday and Monday at 3pm open until 1am.