About
“Joe Mencarini opened the venerable Joe's Inn in 1952 on Shields Avenue, and it became the archetypical Fan restaurant — fiercely loyal customers, long-term wait staff, lots of booths down a narrow aisle and a menu featuring everything from pancakes to a pastrami-and-Swiss. Groups have met to play weekly board games for a decade or more in its booths, and generations of Richmonders conducted their romantic lives over a split order of Spaghetti á la Joe.
[One of the owners] …Tina Kafantaris' father, Nick, [pictured at top] bought the restaurant in 1977. Developer Charlie Diradour's father owned The Fan Grill next door, and in 1980, the Kafantarises leased the space and expanded the restaurant. In the mid-1980s, an interior upgrade of the original space created controversy, but 25 years later, that's been all but forgotten. In 2008, Charlie Diradour sold the original Fan Grill building to Michael Kafantaris. Today, the beer list may have expanded exponentially, but the menu remains the same, and another generation of Richmonders is enjoying its eponymous spaghetti, just like their parents did.” -Richmond Magazine