Article by Josh Gregory with photos by Fitz
(Lead photo of Casby’s shots and bar snacks- sausage and cheese plus turkey leg meat with teriyaki glaze)
Disclosure: for restaurateurs, the Great Neck corridor has always been a tough nut to crack. It’s a bedroom community that is just as fickle as it is diverse, housing some of the longest running and most successful locally-owned restaurants in the area (Coastal Grill, Havana, YNot). With the loved Norfolk Italian restaurant Sirena recently dropping in, the competition for the hard earned and frugally spent dollars of the community are at an all time high. Enter Dave Maglicco and his band of experienced neighborhood specialists.
Above- Greeter at the front, Casby’s roasted beet salad and assorted wine
Casby’s is parked between the two shopping centers of the area, in a building that was once a Burger King and has since hosted several failed middling food iterations. With as many as ten locally-owned restaurants within a space that occupies less than a quarter mile, it’s always been a wonder that none have consistently stayed open past 10 p.m. Those that attempted, were subjected to increased cost to operate and rarely rewarded for their efforts by the late night bar crowd they so desperately yearned for.
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With everything from gringo Mexican, several options for pizza, the generally excellent cuisine of Coastal Grill, to two breakfast places, the missing niche in the area has always been a restaurant that caters to the area’s need for Americana as well as its need for someplace to have a beer, and maybe a shot or two, at night. Casby’s fills both voids in a way that feels both modern, yet comfortable, for a community that’s always been set in its ways.
With chef Ryan Montgomery on board, Maglicco and crew have crafted a menu that suits the needs of its clientele, often fussy and at times downright demanding, while being able to nudge their palates forward, past fried seafood and meat loaf. This is the same neighborhood that, ten years ago, would not support an establishment without the offer of a customer loyalty program or unreasonably low priced specials. With a brunch menu in the works, Casby’s is also preparing to tackle a market currently cornered on both ends of Great Neck Road by Citrus. Given the warm vibe and and solid food we’ve experienced thus far, the new kids on the block have filled a void in a neighborhood that needed a bar.
For more on Casby’s visit them online HERE
Casby’s is located at 1336 N Great Neck Rd in Virginia Beach
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