BLACK-OWNED Southern Cuisine & Crafted Cocktails
Located within The Draftsman Boutique Hotel near The University of Virginia, The Ridley is Charlottesville’s destination for high-quality American fare, local beer and craft cocktails. As one of Charlottesville’s Black-owned restaurants, our restaurant pays homage to Dr. Walter Ridley, the first Black student to graduate from UVA and receive a graduate degree from any major historically white public university in the South.
We designed our menu with a simple question in mind — what would a modern Southern restaurant look like if it were designed around the idea of inclusivity? At The Ridley, you’ll discover destination drinks that showcase our best local makers (wineries, breweries, distilleries) and crave-worthy food crafted from local ingredients whenever possible.
Our menus are fun and approachable with delicious twists on familiar classics alongside Southern-inspired dishes that represent our heritage.
The Ridley is your place to watch the game with a beer at the bar or catch up on work with a coffee on the patio. It’s a place to meet up with your weekday work crew or brunch with your BFFs on the weekend. It’s a place where you can roll solo for lunch or roll deep for dinner with family and friends.
Come visit.
WALTER NATHANIEL RIDLEY
was the first Black student to receive an academic doctoral degree from a traditional Southern white college or university. Dr. Walter Ridley earned the doctorate of education degree from the University of Virginia in 1953. He graduated with high honors and was a member of Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society at UVA.
Dr. Ridley began his career teaching psychology at Virginia State College. He wanted to earn a doctorate, but the only institution in the state of Virginia that granted such degrees was UVA. He sought admission more than once and was denied despite his protestations that, “My father has paid taxes in this state since before I was born and I am entitled to study here.” In fact, the state of Virginia paid him a subsidy to leave the state and study in the North. He went to the University of Minnesota. His dissertation research focused on the question of whether audio-visual materials used in schools contained content that would be deleterious to Black students. The research entailed viewing countless hours of movies, which caused a hemorrhage in his eye. He was advised by doctors to discontinue the research, which he did. He returned to Virginia.
THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
In 1950, Dean Stiles of the Curry School visited Virginia State College. He met Mr. Ridley, who expressed his wish to complete his studies at UVA. It was a fateful meeting because by that time, the University of Virginia had decided to seek Black students “who were highly likely to be successful.” Mr. Ridley applied immediately and was quickly accepted. In an article written some years later about him, the Curry School News said that he “opened new territory for future generations, and with courage and dignity set an example for others to follow.”
To learn more about Dr. Walter N. Ridley or to donate to The Ridley Scholarship Program please click here.
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