In its previous life, it was a Po' Boys. Two years ago, it was purchased by Good Food Service Inc. and became Torrie's Restaurant.
Stepping inside Torrie's, one is pleasantly surprised at how large it is and how nicely laid out the tables are. It's easy to forget that you're on Route 1 once you're inside.
The menu is simple, and while some items, such as the chicken livers, scrapple and pigs feet may not appeal to everybody, there are staples such as ribs, chicken wings and crab cakes. Torrie's is open not only for lunch and dinner but for breakfast as well. Torrie's Famous Steak & Eggs cost $6.55, and there are also hot cakes and French toast specials.
Known for its "Down-Home, Low-Country Cooking," Rae Pence found it one day after she had gone shopping at Walmart with a friend.
"I saw the sign that said ‘Country Cooking,’ and I decided to go in and try it," she said.
Pence returned to Torrie's that evening with her husband, Harry; and even though they live about 10 miles away, they continue to frequent Torrie's two to four times a week.
"I love the food, it's always good. The people are very friendly. The music is an added plus," said Pence.
THE MUSIC SHE IS referring to is the "Music for the Soul" program, which the owners started putting together a few months ago. Blues, country, jazz, gospel and a little bit of oldies-but-goodies are being offered on different nights, Thursday through Sunday evenings. John Goodwin, president of the company, said that they might even start offering karaoke on Wednesday evenings.
Pence said that on Sunday there's a huge crowd that comes from the churches to listen to gospel music. On Sundays, they offer an all-you-can-eat buffet for $10.99, which has all of their regular menu items. Pence is a vegetarian but said that there's plenty of items for her to select from, including collard greens, yams, fried okra, mashed potatoes, pickled beets, and macaroni and cheese. Being from North Carolina, she enjoys country cooking and said that she hadn't been able to find it around here.
Goodwin is from South Carolina, and his executive vice president of 25 years, Edith Stevens, is from Mississippi. This is their third restaurant in the Washington, D.C., area, but the only one so far where they're offering music.
Wally Adams, treasurer of the D.C. Blues Society Jam, lives in the Mount Vernon area and knew Goodwin from his other restaurants. He felt that there was a shortage of live music in the area and wanted to fill the gap. He approached Goodwin and offered to help get something going. Soon, Margot Kelly, a woman who's had experience booking bands, will also be helping out, and they hope to have monthly schedules available shortly.
"What we're trying to do is create a place where there's something for everybody in the community," said Adams. "I've always wanted a nice, decent place to go around here where you can hear music."
ADAMS AND THE D.C. Blues Society Jam were at Torrie's last month and will be there every Thursday evening. That's when there will be an informal open mike jam session on Thursday evening. During one of the first jam sessions, several performers took the stage. One group consisted of "Blue Lou" Rao on the guitar and vocals, Mark Ayers on drums, Stuart Smith on the guitar, and David Atherton on bass.
After them, Rao played with Tony Campbell on bass and Dr. Feelgood on the drums. They had the added feature of something unusual for a blues group — a flute player, Mike Gillespie.
Ayers, Campbell and Smith reappeared with The Pakiva Blues Band, joined by Garfield McNair. Ayers came back for another set, this time with Ed Scott on vocals and guitar, and Dave Jackson on bass.
Torrie's is located at 7732 Richmond Highway. Breakfast is served daily from 8 a.m.-2 p.m.; lunch and dinner, 11 a.m.-closing. Call 703-360-4911.