NORFOLK, Va. — Just off Shore Drive, among a small collection of unique shops, a new restaurant is bringing fine dining to East Beach in Norfolk.
Magnolia & Marlin is the first joint venture between two couples — Angela and Carl Reddix and Tony and Tara McGee — who are betting the elevated Southern and seafood concept can turn a hidden cluster of businesses into a destination.
For Dr. Angela Reddix, the location carries deep personal meaning. Just a couple of blocks away sits what was once Norfolk's designated beach for African Americans.
"I just remember the days that my grandmother and my 10 aunts and uncles and cousins, we would come to City Beach," Reddix said. "This space just means a lot from how little we came from to now owning something like this."
Reddix is already known in the area for her healthcare consulting business ARDX and nonprofits including the Mustard Seed Place in Portsmouth. Magnolia & Marlin marks her first restaurant venture.
"This is a new frontier for me," Reddix said.
Her co-owners share the sense of purpose behind the project. Tara McGee, originally from Mississippi, said the setting shaped the concept.
"I love the water and so East Beach for me brought in the beach (and its) southern coastal charm," Tara McGee said.
"We thought bringing something beautiful to the community would match what is already here," Tony McGee added.
The menu focuses on elevated Southern and seafood dishes — cornbread, greens, fried catfish among the options — and is designed to grow as recipes are refined, the couples tell News 3. The owners brought the same meticulous intention to the restaurant's interior décor.
News 3 spoke with both couples on Friday, September 25, as they prepared for their first official dinner service. Anticipation from the surrounding community had already been building.
"They've been pulling at the door wondering when we're gonna open up," Carl Reddix said.
Angela Reddix said the team worked closely with neighbors before opening.
"The amount of presentations we made to the HOA and the Civic League," Reddix said. "I'm so proud that we went through that process and we engaged them along the way."
Business has been strong since opening. A neighboring shop, Riffle Farms — a market and co-op — is looking forward to the added foot traffic Magnolia & Marlin could bring, along with a coming ice cream shop called Mermaid Creamery.
"It's gonna bring in a whole different array of folks, maybe people from outside of this little area," Will Johnson of Riffle Farms said. "The whole community's been excited about it. We're excited about it. We feed off of each other."
There is still work ahead. The team at Magnolia & Marlin is still interviewing candidates to fill out its staff and is currently awaiting approval of its ABC license. In the meantime, the restaurant is serving mocktails.
For the owners, the partnership is rooted in something bigger than business.
"Faith is the foundation of everything and we would invest in business together and so this is our first venture as Faithful 4," Angela Reddix said.
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