Crafted vacated the space late last year. (Mike Platania photo)
A member of a longtime Richmond restaurant family is working on a new concept in Libbie Mill.
Marianne Trak Hess plans to open Mediterranean spot Opa! Social at 4900 Libbie Mill E. Blvd.
Opa is taking the space left vacant by Crafted, which closed last December after more than six years in business.
Trak Hess, who’s opening Opa with her husband Eric Hess, said she grew up in her family’s former namesake restaurant, Trak’s Greek & Italian Restaurant on Quioccasin Road in Henrico, and went on to work at The Grapevine on Three Chopt Road, which the family still owns.
Trak Hess decided to step out on her own in early 2025 and bought Lola’s Farmhouse Bistro in Manakin Sabot. A few months later she decided to start looking for another spot and late last year came across the vacant Crafted space.
“It just gave us everything that we were looking for: the patio, the big bar, the space for private events,” Trak Hess said.
Marianne Trak Hess and Eric Hess (Courtesy Marianne Trak Hess)
Opa’s menu will include some of the most popular Greek and Italian dishes from Lola’s, such as its bolognese made with New York strip steak and its fresh spanakopita and hummus. Trak Hess said they’re also planning to experiment with some new dishes like “Greek sushi” made with dolmades vine leaves, as well as new vegetarian and gluten-free options.
Trak Hess said they’re planning a major renovation of the second-gen, 6,000-square-foot space that’ll include putting in a new hood and walk-in refrigerator and significant cosmetic changes to the front-of-house.
“It’s going to have a little bit of your traditional Greek mom-and-pop (restaurant) look, but then we’re going to have a modern twist to it with a very sophisticated look,” Trak Hess said. “We’re going to have velvet curtains on the windows, and we’re going to use a lot of gold ornate tiles in the ceilings and big, crystal chandeliers.”
Trak Hess said they’re looking to open Opa sometime in August, and are looking forward to joining Libbie Mill.
“It feels great. The hard part is making that decision and signing the papers, but then once you do it, it’s like, ‘Okay, let’s go, let’s do this,’” she said. “I do hope that we are going to get some regulars that are in the neighborhood that can just walk to us.”
Opa will be open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, and serve lunch on weekdays and brunch on weekends.
Opa’s lease was brokered by Sperity Real Estate Ventures’ Nathan Hughes.
Libbie Mill’s developer, Gumenick Properties, continues to build hundreds of more apartments and townhomes at the 90-acre neighborhood. Charlottesville-based gym chain ACAC is also headed to Libbie Mill after buying the former Lumber Liquidators office building last summer for nearly $14 million.
One of the first restaurants to open at Libbie Mill was Shagbark, which opened in 2016 and has since been joined by food-and-beverage tenants like RVA Bakehouse, The Brass Tap, Yellow Umbrella Provisions and Acacia Mid-Town, the last of which reopened there in 2023 after a three-year hiatus.
Only a single, roughly 2,400-square-foot retail space remains within Libbie Mill at its Tanner Row building across the street from OPA at 4901 Libbie Mill E. Blvd. Retail tenants at Libbie Mill include Blue Ridge Cyclery, Annalise Bridal Boutique and eyelash and beauty salon Extended Studio.
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