The Most Haunted Restaurants in Richmond

Posted: 04.29.2025 | Updated: 04.29.2025

Richmond isn’t just home to a haunted restaurant or two. The city is rich with dining establishments that have all kinds of phantoms and shadowy figures lurking throughout their halls. From flying silverware to faces in mirrors, you’re sure to get a fright if you visit any of these unearthly eateries. 

Outside of restaurants, Richmond has plenty of haunted sites peppered throughout town. From a haunted tunnel where ten men died in a cave-in to a museum where Edgar Allan Poe is still seen lounging on his favorite sofa, there are several hot spots of haunted activity clustered together. To see these places and more for yourself, book a ghost tour with Richmond Ghosts. 

What are the most haunted restaurants in Richmond?

Of all the haunted restaurants in Richmond, there are three that really stand out when it comes to tragic backstories, murders, and fire-fueled deaths:

• Helen’s, which is haunted by the woman it was named after
• The businesses at 1721 E Franklin Street (which is currently where JewFro resides)
• Crab Louie’s Seafood Tavern, where a young girl continues to play long into the afterlife 

Helen’s 

Over a hundred years ago, the business that resided at Robinson and Main wasn’t a restaurant. It was a pharmacy called Fletchers when the building was first unveiled in 1912. 

By 1927, Humbert and Marie Donati had bought the space and opened a restaurant called D’s. The Donatis lived in the apartment above the restaurant with their children, including their daughter Helen. 

As the children grew, Humbert and Marie quickly realized that Helen was the best choice to continue the legacy of the family restaurant. On her 21st birthday, in 1935, Helen’s parents transferred the restaurant over to her. With a savvy business mind and forward-thinking ideas, Helen turned the restaurant into a local staple.

After faithfully serving her restaurant and customers for over 30 years, Helen passed away in 1967. Her brother, John, then took over the business and renamed it to honor the woman who had transformed it into the establishment it had become. 

Helen’s Spirit

In 1994, the Donati family sold Helen’s to Leslie and John Tuite. As they did, they offered a word of warning, “Don’t be surprised if you see Helen hanging around.” 

They weren’t kidding. Leslie has seen Helen float around the restaurant — still dressed in a ‘30s dress and apron, with her hair pulled back — looking like she’s about to start a shift. 

Staff and guests have experienced all kinds of things in Helen’s, from lights flickering to the chef’s utensils going missing. One night, a whiskey glass flew across the restaurant, like someone had thrown it, long after the customers had left for the evening. Plates are also known to fly around the room and shatter, though they’ve never struck anyone. 

Other staff say that they always feel like they’re being watched. During closing time, when there is only staff on-site, they will often hear footsteps and humming around them.

A clock that had been a fixture in the restaurant shot off the wall one night, breaking into pieces on the ground right as the team was getting ready to leave. They decided to let Helen have the restaurant for the night and elected to clean up the mess the next morning. 

Julep’s/Shockoe Whiskey & Wine/JewFro

Over the years, the building at 1721 E. Franklin Street has switched hands many times. This isn’t that surprising when you consider that this is the oldest commercial building still in use in Richmond. 

Back in the 1800s, the building operated as a gun shop. The story goes that the owner, James McNaught, took on a young apprentice, 15-year-old Daniel Denoon. After working at the shop for a while, Denoon decided he had absorbed enough to open his own gun shop with his brother. 

Upon hearing this news, McNaught invited his apprentice over for a goodbye dinner at his apartment above the shop. After feeding him, McNaught went downstairs, called Denoon to join him, and then shot him as he descended the stairs. 

The apprentice made it to the bottom of the stairs before dying from the wound. This is still the area with the highest intensity of spectral activity. 

The Murdered Boy’s Spirit

In recent decades, 1721 E. Franklin has been occupied by different restaurants and drinking establishments. During recent renovations, the construction crew was working to update the stairs where the apprentice was shot. 

Every time they would work to bring the stairs up to code, the steps would cave in, no matter what avenue the crew tried. Many believe this was the apprentice refusing to let the stairs that took his life be fixed. 

The area where the boy took his last breath was converted into the women’s bathroom. Many women have found themselves washing their hands in the bathrooms when they spot a young man in the mirror behind them. When they spin around, no one is there. 

There are also whispers that the original shop owner’s spirit haunts the place, as McNaught killed himself in jail after being arrested for Denoon’s murder. 

Crab Louie’s Seafood Tavern

The building that now houses Crab Louie’s has over 250 years’ worth of history. Built in 1745 by a pair of Scottish brothers, the home has been occupied by everyone from a war major from the War of 1812 and Civil War hero Colonel William Wooldridge. 

The house stayed in the Wooldridge family for several generations until a house fire destroyed it. Tragically, one of the Wooldridge daughters, Rachel, died in the fire. She was only seven or eight. 

In the 1970s, the house was renovated to operate as a restaurant. However, its former residents decided to stick around and offer free entertainment to its guests. 

Rachel’s Table

The staff at Crab Louie’s are well-aware of the spooky past of their building. They’ve leaned into the lore by dubbing Table 10 as “Rachel’s Table” because of how much strange activity takes place around that space. 

A table setting at Rachel’s Table never sits still for long. A knife will move on its own or a napkin will fly across the room. Glasses will rattle on the unmoving table, and to-go cups have even been known to fly out of their sleeves. 

Haunted Richmond

Because of all this otherworldly activity, Richmond has become a destination for folks who want to experience a spectral flair with their dining experience. However, Richmond has many other spooky spots beyond these dining rooms. 

Downtown Richmond has one of the most haunted sites in town: the old Slave Jail. Over 350,000 people were sold and bought at this horrific site, and many of the spirits who were subjected to this abuse still haunt the area to this day. If you want to learn more about other dark spots in Richmond’s history and see the locations for yourself, book a ghost tour with Richmond Ghosts. 

To learn about other top haunted restaurants, breweries, and eateries around the U.S., follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. To read about more haunted locations around Richmond, check out our blog. 

Sources:

• https://commonwealthtimes.org/2009/10/29/haunts-of-richmond-tell-local-ghost-stories/
• https://rvaghosts.com/
• https://www.helensrva.com/
• https://www.styleweekly.com/ghosts-of-the-fan/
• https://www.styleweekly.com/the-7-most-haunted-restaurants-in-richmond/
• https://thepointsguy.com/news/scary-bars-and-restaurants-usa/
• https://crablouies.com/history-html/