CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Roux St. Café, a locally owned restaurant that has served Charlottesville with Cajun-inspired cuisine since 2024, announced it will close its doors after what its owners described as months of weighing the difficult decision. The restaurant’s final day will be July 31.
In a heartfelt message shared with customers via the restaurant’s social media, the owners, Kellie and Brian Washington, who also own Vocelli Pizza in the same Woodbrook Shopping Center of Route 29, said the decision came only after exhausting every option to keep the business open.
“Brian and I have spent countless hours sitting in this chair after closing, staring out at an empty dining room, talking about our dream and trying to find one more way to make it work,” Kellie Washington wrote. “Today, we have to make one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever made.”
The couple said the closure followed, “a lot of tears, hard conversations and trying everything we could think of.”
“I don’t think either of us has found the words for how much this hurts,” the post said. “This restaurant was never just another business. It was a dream we carried for years before it ever had a name. We poured ourselves into these walls, these recipes, these colors, and this community. Our hope was simply to share a little piece of that dream with all of you.”
Since opening, Roux St. Café has become known not only for its Southern-inspired menu, but also for its role in family gatherings, weddings and community events through its catering services.
The owners expressed gratitude to customers who supported the restaurant over the years.
“To everyone who came in for lunch, brought your family, trusted us to cater your weddings and celebrations, told a friend about us, or simply chose to try something new… thank you,” they wrote. “You gave this dream a chance, and we’ll never stop being grateful for that.”
Before closing permanently, the owners are inviting customers to visit one final time.
“If you’ve been meaning to stop by, we’d love to see you one last time, to cook for you one last time and most of all, to thank you,” the statement said.
While the restaurant’s current chapter is coming to an end, the owners emphasized they have not given up on the vision behind Roux St. Café.
“We aren’t saying goodbye to the dream. We’re simply giving ourselves the chance to find a new way to live it,” they wrote. “Our hope is that this isn’t the end of Roux St. Café. It’s simply the end of this chapter. We don’t know exactly what the future looks like yet, but we’re holding onto the hope that one day we’ll be able to welcome you back.”
