Virginia Restaurant that Popularized “Death by Chocolate” Sold to New Owner

by Susan Davis on 05/10/09 at 8:48 am

Trellis Restaurant

No visit to Virginia’s historic Colonial Williamsburg would be complete without a visit to the Trellis Restaurant, the popular anchor eatery in the heart of the Merchant Square shopping area.  But after nearly 30 years, six million meals and a collection of honors and awards, the Trellis is being sold by co-owners Marcel Desaulniers and John Curtis to David Everett of the Blue Talon Bistro, a Colonial Williamsburg favorite that specializes in serious comfort food.

The Trellis is perhaps best known for its innovative, regional and seasonal menu selections.  It is also renowned for its rich chocolate and sweet treats that have made the restaurant a destination for foodies from around the world.  Its signature dessert, Death by Chocolate, inspired a cookbook by the same name, and catapulted the Trellis to fame.  The decadent dessert, a seven layer chocolate cake, combined with chocolate mousse and cocoa meringue, is an extravaganza that is a dieter’s ultimate demise.  At $6.75, the new owner assures worried fans that this foodie favorite, along with the seasonal specialties, will remain on the menu.

The Trellis opened in 1980, amid a recession.  Its popularity skyrocketed after the 1983 Summit of Industrialized Nations brought world leaders – and national and international press – to the area.

In 1988, Executive Chef Desaulniers wrote The Trellis Cookbook so tourists could attempt to recreate Trellis meals at home.  Death by Chocolate came four years later and won a James Beard award for the best baking and dessert book of 1992.

“It’s really the tail that wagged the dog for so many years,” Desaulniers said in an interview with the Virginian-Pilot. “People make pilgrimages to Williamsburg to have Death by Chocolate.”

The sale is expected to be complete by the end of October.

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