Wellrock to fund Travis Croxton's RockSalt Restaurants

FREDERICK, Md., Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Wellrock Capital Partners' Food Fund will fund the opening of four RockSalt restaurants in Virginia and North Carolina.  Wellrock will provide capital for Travis Croxton to bring his unique "farm-to-table" seafood and oyster bar restaurants to Charlottesville VA, Asheville NC, Fairfax VA and Charlotte NC.  The first site in Charlottesville VA is scheduled to open in September of this year with the remaining three fully completed by April of 2015. 

"We are psyched to support Travis in this amazing project," says Dennis Hoffman, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Wellrock Capital Partners.  "I'd heard the legend of Travis Croxton long before I met him. RockSalt brings together the best of his expertise as a farmer, restaurateur and entrepreneur.  Travis deserves every bit of praise he gets." 

Each RockSalt will have connections to food and cuisines native to their respective locations.  At the heart of each will be the Raw Bar with oysters sourced directly from Croxton's own Rappahannock Oyster Company farms on the Chesapeake.  In addition to the raw bar, there is a large focus on a wood-fired grill that will showcase local seafood, produce and protein. 

"It is important to me that the local community truly connects with each restaurant," says Travis Croxton.  "This starts with sourcing from local farms and producers and bringing their wares to the forefront of our restaurants.  We want to promote them on a large scale and our success will be tied directly to their success.  Our oysters simply get the conversation started."

RockSalt Charlottesville is located at the new Shops at Stonefield Town Center at the intersection of Hydraulic Road and Rt 29.  Guests will have the choice of sitting in front of the enormous raw bar, taking in the community with full outdoor patio seating, traditional indoor seating overlooking an open kitchen or even at our outdoor bar connected to the restaurant through our rollup window.

About Travis Croxton:  Recognized by Food & Wine magazine with the 2005 Tastemaker's Award and in 2013 by Zagat as one of the "24 Restaurant-World Power Players Around the U.S." Travis Croxton is the co-owner of Rappahannock River Oysters, LLC in Virginia (www.rroysters.com).  His current restaurants include Merroir (Topping, VA), Rappahannock (Richmond, VA), Rappahannock Oyster Bar (Washington, DC) and partners with Derek Brown at both Eat the Rich and Southern Efficiency (also in Washington, DC). 

About Wellrock Capital Partners: Based in Frederick, MD, Wellrock Capital Partners is a boutique investment firm specializing in connecting investors and resources with small and medium sized companies that need additional funding to reach their potential.  The Wellrock Food Fund was launched in August of 2014 to focus specifically on investments in top chefs and restaurateurs.  To learn more about the fund and investing opportunities go to www.wellrockcp.com.

SOURCE Wellrock Capital Partners