(Sasha Rigney’s creative craft cocktails are exploding in popularity. Photo courtesy of Sasha Rigney.)  

By Jeff Maisey

It’s opening time on a Wednesday at ilo Bistro in Norfolk. 

Like any other dinnertime throughout the week, a small gathering hovers around the entrance to get a seat at the bar at 5 p.m. on the nose. 

The patrons — most of them regulars — are warmly greeted as they make their way to a high-back bar stool, while those with table reservations trickle in during the peak dinner service period, 6 to 8 p.m.

The laidback young woman with the reassuring smile behind the marble-top bar is Sasha Rigney.  Sasha is no ordinary bartender; she’s a highly respected, competition-award-winning mixologist. Chances are whatever mixed beverage you request hers will be the best you’ve ever experienced. 

And that’s the thing: the 5:00 PMers aren’t there for a happy hour special — there is none — they come for the artistic crafts-woman-shift quality of the drinks.

Sasha Rigney’s stellar reputation in the Hampton Roads culinary scene gained her trust to ilo Bistro chef/owner Zack Close before he launched the neighborhood hotspot in the Historic Freemason District in 2024.

Close, who spent a decade in New York City and worked with Daniel Boulud at his Michelin- starred restaurant, Café Boulud, before returning to his hometown of Norfolk to become the Executive Chef at the Glass Light Hotel Restaurant in 2023, was eager to share his culinary vision with his homeport foodies. 

The neighborhood bistro’s cuisine showcases modern French and Mediterranean influences (a mix between Close’s mostly French training and Greek heritage). 

Close tapped Sasha to be his front of the house and beverage director. 

“I curate the cocktails menu — that’s my baby,” said Sasha. “Chef and I do the wine tastings together.”

The cocktail menu is frequently updated to keep things fresh, though most any request can be filled. 

On one random evening the Signature Cocktails featured included the delicious Violet Hymns (made with Patrón Reposado, Licor 43, mulled wine reduction, fresh lime, and candied violet), the popular Alligator Tears (ruby red grapefruit Voka and aperitif, Jäegermeister, Peychaud’s bitters, absinthe, and blood orange essence), N20 Ramos Gin Fizz (London dry gin, citrus, simple syrup, heavy cream, egg white, flower water, and bubbles), and the ilo Manhattan (golden raisin infused rye whiskey, sweet vermouth blend, Peychaud’s, ouzo rinse, and lemon). 

Each ordered cocktail is made from scratch. Those seated at the bar have a front row seat to the entertaining show of the intricate process. The presentation is often such a piece of artwork you’ll want to snap a photograph before taking your first sip. 

Sasha Rigney certainly has a tireless passion for what she does, and she’s paid her dues along the way.

She began working in the restaurant industry at Charlie’s Cafe in Ghent as a summertime job; making toast in the kitchen before moving up to server. 

Like most in the food service field, Sasha moved around at first including gigs at Scotty Quixx and Buffalo Wild Wings, where she landed her first bartending position. 

When The Main hotel in downtown Norfolk opened, Sasha scored a bar job working under the guidance of Josh Seaburg at Saltine.

“We were neighbors and I was talking to him about hospitality and bartending,” explained Sasha, “and he gave me these books to read to help my knowledge of cocktails. That’s where I really began to refine my etiquette and craft.”

It was an opportunity at Heirloom in Virginia Beach where her future began to take shape. 

“It was my ah-ha moment where I was creating menus and managing,”  she said. “They gave me creative freedom to do what I wanted. That was my little pod and they helped me blossom.”

At ilo Bistro, Sasha Rigney’s cocktail creations compliment the modern cuisine created by Chef Close. The wine list has grown over the past two years and the liquid of the small vineyards offered always seems to pleasantly surprise at a fair price. Wines are sourced from Greece, Italy, Spain, France, and the USA.  

Zach Close has encouraged Sasha to expand her creative side.

One example has been to allow her to use ilo as a pop up experience on various Sundays when the restaurant is normally closed.

“It will take place on the first Sunday of every month starting in October (October 4th is the kick-off) and eventually I will take it to other locations around Hampton Roads (and from here, around the country),” Sasha Rigney shared. “The theme for my pop-up, “Don’t Be Late,” is a Soda Fountain/Diner vibe inspired by my travels around the world. You can expect ilo to look slightly different, as I will redecorate a few things to fit more of the retro vibe.” 

The event will not only showcase her talents as a cocktail creator, but as a cook.

Some of the main food menu choices are likely to be Glazed Meatloaf with collard greens, baked beans and cheerwine ($23), Sunday Supper featuring pot roast, glazed carrots, potato au gratin, and gravy ($28), Cincinnati-style Chili ($18), and Charles Croque Madam Killer Omelet ($18).

Small plates in the works: Crispy Monte Cristo Points with tomato marmalade and basil oil ($14), Poffejetories with lemon curd and powdered sugar ($12), Brusselse Wafels with framboise (raspberries, $9), and Bean Tartine with cured egg yolk and bacon bites ($9). 

“The drink menu will fit the Soda Fountain/Diner theme and I will offer non-alcoholic fountain drinks as well as a cocktail menu highlighting classic diner drinks,” said Sasha. “One of the drinks I’m most excited about is a boozy adult float. I started making liqueur-infused ice cream a few years ago, so it will be a rotating flavor layered with a sparkling cocktail and topped with boozy whipped cream.”

The drink menu will also tie in with music.

“I created a Milkshake-inspired Milk Punch based on Kelis’s “My Milkshake Brings All the Boys to the Yard.” My cocktail creation was called “My Milk Punch Brings All The Boys to the Bar,” which will be one of the featured cocktails on Don’t Be Late’s cocktail menu.” 

In addition to the food and drink, Sasha mentioned she will also be making ice cream cones, so guests can pop in for a quick treat to walk around the neighborhood with too.

As for competitions, Sash Rigney has been hard at work developing a new entry. Competitions challenge her to stay on top of her game.

“The competition I entered is called the Virginia Cocktail Games which VA Spirits is organizing. The drink I entered is called “Tide Keeps The Time,” as the competition concept is “Time in a Bottle.”

“This cocktail is inspired by growing up in Virginia, where memory moves like the tide, and the tide keeps time.

“The foundation begins with Waterman’s Spirit Organic Vodka, distilled on the coast, and Laird’s Bottled In Bond Apple Brandy, distilled in the mountains of Virginia. Together, they connect two sides of the commonwealth—ridge and shoreline—while giving the drink both clarity and warmth.

“My homemade Harbor Liqueur is built with Waterman’s Spirits Organic Vodka and flavors rooted in this place. Native honeysuckle brings a familiar, sun-warmed herbaceous profile, while elderflower adds a delicate floral lift. Virginia’s Choice black tea from Norfolk Coffee & Tea gives the drink structure, tannin, and a subtle nod to Southern hospitality.

Sercial Madeira brings dryness, acidity, and a quiet salinity that reminds me of sea air, while bay leaf adds an herbal, almost coastal minimality—like dried leaves, wood, and breeze along the harbor. Artemisia bitters, made on a Virginia farm, add depth and bring the local story full circle.

The Harbor Liqueur is also used in the foam and cocktail pearls, so the flavor moves through the drink in different textures. The foam creates a soft, bubbly surface like the sea, while the pearls echo tide, time, and memory.

“For me, this cocktail is a love letter to Virginia—from the mountains to the coast, from childhood sweetness to the salt air of Hampton Roads.”