Dana Craig with the Richmond Times-Dispatch weighed in on North Richmond’s new dining hot-spot:

Sisters Shanan Chambers, a former Sidewalk Café server, and Teresa Delmendo, a former bartender, along with cook Bill Fritts converted a former Bellevue Avenue hardware store into what the e-mail describes as “a neighborhood place — a la Cheers — that families can enjoy.”

It’s this that makes Northside Grille stand out from several more established area restaurants. It knows how to keep the big people happy while not forgetting the little ones.

Not all adults want their happy hours pierced by screams of children in need of entertainment. Not all families want their dinners filled with clouds of smoke and booze-laden chatter.

Northside Grille falls right between partying and parenting. The open restaurant’s center is filled with a large, custom-made bar. Its wine list playfully ranks selections from “Good $6″ (Red Diamond Merlot) to “Better $7″ (Sartori Pinot Grigio) to “Best $8″ (Acacia Pinot Noir).

But the back of the restaurant houses a foosball table, a whimsically colored kiddie area and a floor-to-ceiling specials chalkboard, the bottom half covered in children’s doodles.

The place feels so comfortable you almost forget it’s barely been open three months. Of course, there are still some kinks, but this isn’t a place where you mind the occasional wait or order mishap.