The ultimate achievement for a hotel dining venue is to become a success in its own right. Ideally, it becomes a tradition for guests and a community fixture that transcends branding, ownership, place, and time. Dining rooms and restaurants that have garnered great acclaim inevitably bestow the glow of their reputations on their hotels.

As with the evolution of all dining concepts, however, no matter how traditionally popular, it eventually becomes necessary to refresh and update the food, service, or atmosphere of a beloved restaurant. No change goes unnoticed, and tinkering with success can be perilous.

TJ’s Restaurant in the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia, is a prime example of a community fixture. Just off the financial district in Virginia’s capital city, the state’s legislators, power brokers, and society players have gathered there for more than two decades to wine, dine, and deal.

“TJ’s has a rich history in the community as the place for a business luncheon, pre-theater dinner, or drink while enjoying the Rotunda lobby,” says F&B Director and Assistant GM Pat Manning.

With the governor and mayor as regulars, TJ’s is a Richmond tradition. So when Executive Chef Jannequin Bennett left after nine years, Manning promoted Chef James Schroeder, then sous chef at the Jefferson’s fine dining restaurant Lemaire, to update the menu while maintaining the balance of old favorites with updated versions of regional specialties and New American cuisine.

Although the service and comfortable interiors remained the same at TJ’s, the passing of the torch from chef to chef had potential to be hazardous. Manning asked Schroeder to focus on a menu that was “more approachable, both in the selection of menu items and pricing.”

Twenty-two years of service had resulted in numerous favorite dishes and particular expectations for the menu. These expectations were magnified by the dignified club-like setting, boasting oversized leather chairs surrounded by rich mahogany millwork, antique furniture, and historical artwork. Also influencing expectations were the restaurant’s location in the historic riverside environs and its growing reputation as the home of more adventurous fare.

Schroeder’s easy first choice was to keep the most popular signature items: Virginia Peanut Soup; Cornmeal-Crusted Chesapeake Bay Oysters with apple-fennel slaw and a spicy remoulade; and TJ’s World Famous Grilled Cheeseburger from ground Black Angus filet mignon with Vermont three-year-aged Grafton cheddar, Dave & Dee’s pickled oyster mushrooms, and black truffle aioli.

Other favorites survived with a new spin, such as the lunch menu’s Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and pineapple-caper aioli on a toasted English muffin. Barbecue, Old Bay seasoning, collard greens, and grits make special guest appearances on the new menu in a nod to traditional southern tastes, as do seafood items from Delmarva waters, mandatory in Tidewater restaurants.

While bowing to TJ’s tradition, Schroeder finds ways to add a progressive side to his menus. He subtly slips in new directions by disguising them with familiar elements. Slow-roasted pork takes on international character when served as a quesadilla with smoked Gouda, cider-braised cabbage, and chipotle sour cream. He produces TJ’s first-ever house-made pasta for his fettuccini with semi-dried tomatoes, spinach, parsley, and bleu cheese. Elsewhere on the menu, dishes combine new ingredients and feature global accompaniments.

The update at TJ’s is also a dress rehearsal for this year’s fullscale renovation of Lemaire. The much-loved site of romantic dinners, wedding celebrations, and countless festive occasions was scheduled to close in January and reopen in the spring with a new name, menu, and a less formal, “more approachable and vibrant” concept that is “still under wraps.” The current management team, led by Executive Chef Walter Bundy and Director of Restaurants and Wine Director Ben Eubanks, will remain on board to create a new dining experience that honors the happy memories created there.

The Jefferson Hotel is awaiting the full verdict on its reinvigorated restaurant. TJ’s, reopened in September, does not yet have numbers to testify, but guests have been “very enthusiastic” about the changes, and preliminary reports suggest that the tinkering was successful.

“We are welcoming a younger demographic anxious to experience the fun new menu items, while our frequent guests continue to enjoy their old favorites,” says Manning. “Chef Schroeder, a local Richmonder, has been instrumental in bringing in new diners through networking within the city’s culinary community.”

Denny Lewis is a professional freelance writer based in Arlington, Massachusetts.