SHOCKOE SLIP was once the busy headquarters of tobacco and cotton barons who traded daily in the cobblestoned port below the falls of the James River. Tragically, this vital business district was reduced to rubble during the Civil War. Although rebuilt shortly thereafter, the area never fully recovered and eventually deteriorated into a state of neglected disrepair and ruin.

Once the construction was completed, the search throughout the country began for unique and unusual furnishings for the restaurant. The antique brass elevator was made by Otis Elevator Company for the Con Edison building in New York. The stairway was salvaged from the old St. Luke's Hospital in Richmond. Our Indian was carved by a craftsman in South Carolina. The brass chandelier came from the Federal Reserve Bank in Cincinnati. The hostess desk on the first floor was an old ticket booth purchased at an Atlanta auction.

The eighteen-month restoration project happily resulted in a historically rich and beautiful landmark restaurant. Lastly, the addition of hundreds of lush plants and fresh flowers breathed life into the building where today, over 5,000 guests dine each week.