BigWife’s Mac n’ Cheese, take-out only option from Bookbinder's owners, now open in Scott's Addition

The Balboa, real deal Bolognese with pockets of ricotta, at BigWife’s Mac n’ Cheese.

BigWife

BigWife’s Mac n’ Cheese is now open, serving from a colorful trailer that’s mostly parked at 1017A Arthur Ashe Blvd. in Scott's Addition, with a brick-and-mortar central kitchen and takeout facility opening soon in the same location.

The new takeout-only restaurant is a more casual and whimsical venture from John and Jayme Taxin who also own Old Original Bookbinder’s Seafood & Steakhouse in Shockoe Bottom. Running a high-end steakhouse for over 20 years, John and Jayme became accustomed to fine-tuning menu items to match every customer’s exact preference. “We’ll do whatever we can to make the customer happy before they leave,” John said. “If they want me to do cartwheels, I’ll do it.”

While running Bookbinder’s, John began to fantasize about a totally different restaurant concept. “My dream has always been to have a restaurant that only serves one dish,” he said. Years ago in New York City, he visited a restaurant that only served macaroni and cheese, and he loved the idea, but never had the time or extra budget to make it happen.

Enter 2020. Bookbinder’s had just had two good years and the Taxins were finally at a point where there was money left over between high-traffic holiday seasons. Then, COVID-19 hit and in March, they pivoted to a takeout and delivery model. With no large parties or banquets, John started looking for additional income sources and a business model that wasn’t so dependent on in-person service. That mac and cheese concept reappeared.

The Taxins collaborated with their chef to start creating different flavors. They hired friend and artist Aaron Meshon to design a quirky brand with a playful visual style. “I wanted to have characters for the different flavors of mac and cheeses,” John said. He invested in flyers and packaging… and then restaurants reopened and with its spacious patio, Bookbinder’s got busy. The mac and cheese project returned to the back burner.

In fall of 2020, as patio traffic started to slow, but there still weren’t banquets or large parties, the Taxins started testing again and BigWife’s Mac n’ Cheese held its first takeout-only pop-up.

BigWife’s is a reference to Jayme’s nickname—John started calling her “Big Wife” while she was pregnant, and it stuck, becoming a term of endearment. “She was the happiest pregnant person you’ve ever seen in your life,” John said, with Jaime agreeing that as she gained weight each month she smiled, taking it as a sign of a healthy pregnancy. “Now, we’ll be in the grocery store and he’s a few aisles over shouting ‘Hey, Big Wife!” Jayme said, with a laugh.

In January of 2021, the Taxins did a longer trial run, serving BigWife’s mac and cheeses out of Bookbinder’s from Monday through Thursday evenings for takeout or delivery through GrubHub. After two days of good-but-not-great sales, John hit the streets, passing out flyers in Shockoe Bottom, Church Hill and Rocketts Landing.

“On the third day, things went crazy,” he said. “We had to turn off online ordering… We needed two people just to open bags to put the mac and cheese in. The entire Bookbinder’s bar was filled with to-go bags for BigWife’s.”

With that affirmation, the Taxins decided it was time for BigWife’s to find its own home. They originally wanted to take over an existing restaurant, but when they heard that the former Growlers to Go space was up for lease, they couldn’t pass up the location. They signed in fall of 2021 with hopes to open in late spring or early summer. Then construction and permitting delays set in. They are still waiting on some electrical parts.

The ultimate vision is for the Arthur Ashe Boulevard location to be half prep kitchen and half takeout restaurant with capacity to prep mac and cheese for seven or eight smaller BigWife’s locations and trailers. Right now, the first trailer is open and frequently parked in the lot outside the BigWife’s location for walk-up ordering, phone orders, online takeout and delivery via bigwifesmac.com or GrubHub, with more food app presences coming soon. You’ll see noodle depictions of John and Jayme on the front with noodle children, pets and other fun visual touches on every side. The mac and cheese is prepped at Bookbinder’s for now and is finished to order in the trailer.

The concept of mac and cheese may sound simple, but the Taxins applied the same standards they apply to Bookbinder’s quality food. Every mac and cheese order starts with the same white cheddar, fontina base sauce with pasta that’s thick enough to stand up to the cheese. Then, additional toppings are added for each flavor variety. “We make the mac and cheese, then place the ingredients by hand, then bake it,” John said. “I’ve been to Italian restaurants where you get stuck with all the cheese in one bite. That’s why we place every ingredient.”

John was originally hoping the macs could be finished on a conveyor oven like you see at quick-serve pizza restaurants, but the end product was just too dry and it didn’t get hot enough for a takeout-focused product to make the drive home. Now when you order, your mac is baked to bubbly-hot in a convection oven so it’s the perfect temperature when you get it home.

He also tried to use compostable paper containers, but they wouldn’t give the crunchy casserole effect he was seeking around the edges, so the macs are prepared in an aluminum pan, then baked, and the pan is either placed in a bowl for eating immediately or in a custom-branded to-go box.

Right now, BigWife’s offers nine different varieties of mac and cheese. Mac Lorraine with smoky applewood bacon, scallions and gruyere, and Buffalo Mac with hot chicken, Gorgonzola and Texas Pete are the most popular. Greek Wedding Mac features tomatoes, olives, pepperoncini, onions, artichoke and feta. Balboa Mac has “real deal” Bolognese and pockets of ricotta cheese and is a nod to the Taxins hometown of Philadelphia. Each 16-ounce serving serves one with leftovers and costs between $9 and $12.

There are vegan and gluten-free options, but right now, those need to be ordered in advance for catering. Once the main kitchen is open, they’ll be readily available. You can add fried chicken tenders to any mac as well. The menu also includes three salads, a Big Ass Cookie—as the name implies it’s a freshly baked chocolate-chip cookie roughly the size of your face—and a Big Ass Brownie that’s dense, chocolatey and gooey in the middle.

Right now, the Big Wife’s trailer is mostly open Monday through Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. Visit bigwifesmac.com for more information and to place an order.