This truly is a rocky time for Richmond restaurants. Almost as soon as I hit submit on my last blog post about restaurants closing a few more came in. Just like the post before.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch is reporting that Manakin Grill will shut down on Monday, Jan. 11.

From the TD, "Owner Darrin Witten said … that the downturn in the economy had kept diners away from the upscale western Henrico restaurant."

Of course that wasn't the only restaurant closing news. The Twitterverse was aflutter with rumors that Verbena, the upscale Fan restaurant, had closed. According to Verbena's outgoing voice message, the closing is temporary. The restaurant will be closed through January for "remodeling."

Now for the speculation, which means I don't know this as fact, I'm speculating.

First, my sources are saying that the Verbena closing is to downgrade the menu (and prices) and make the restaurant more of a bar.

I say good call.

It's not that Richmond needs more bars; it's that Verbena was always a little over-priced for their entrée selection. Now when it comes to some upscale apps at the bar and a nice martini, Verbena was one of the best places in town.

In fact, it was one of my favorite spots for happy hour … and I wasn't alone. Night after night, the V-Lounge, the upstairs, more causal portion of the restaurant, was packed with drinkers and smokers living it up. The downstairs dining room … not so much.

Then again, I have other sources saying that Verbena is closed for good. That the restaurant has a buyer and will actually open as an entirely different restaurant come February.

Either way, I have another piece of speculation: Verbena is plenty pretty. Granted the sunlight pouring in through second story windows at sundown could blind someone, but other than that, the restaurant looks great.

So why are they remodeling? If their goal is, in fact, to be more of a bar than an upscale restaurant and most of their bar crowd used to smoke … well, you can finish the thought.

I'm not saying for a fact that Verbena's remodel is to add a non-smoking-Va.-compliance smoking section. I'm speculating, which means guessing. I guess we'll have to wait till February to see if I'm right.