Virginia’s former Gov. couldn’t beat him. Now, this restaurant owner is running for state senate

Matt Strickland, the famed owner of Gourmeltz restaurant in Spotsylvania County who pushed back against former Gov. Ralph Northam’s coronavirus restrictions, is running for state senate.

Strickland will run as a Republican in the new 27th District that encompasses parts of Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and Fredericksburg. Strickland announced his campaign 21 months ahead of the General Election on November 7, 2023, when all 40 Virginia State Senators will be up for re-election.

Strickland received regional media attention when he bucked former Gov. Ralph Northam’s Executive Order that required restaurants to the number of customers allowed in his restaurant and prevented anyone from sitting at a bar.

Strickland fought the Governor after the state sued Gourmeltz for non-compliance with the Governor’s orders. Strickland deemed the order detrimental to his business and unconstitutional.

The health department ordered Gourmeltz to close for violating the governor’s orders, but Strickland kept his doors open. He eventually faced off with the state in a Spotsylvania courtroom last year, and won his case.

Strickland says that his experience and the encouragement of residents and conservative organizations helped in his decision to run for office.

“My fight against the government over the past couple of years has shown me just how corrupt our representatives are. And we have these corrupt politicians on both sides of the aisle,” says Strickland. “I have come to the conclusion that the best way to stop the destruction of our Commonwealth and country is to fill one of these seats myself and fight hard for our children’s future.”

Strickland will run on a platform that will include implementing voter ID, healthcare reform, banning of Critical Race Theory in schools, support for Second Amendment rights, limiting the Governor’s powers of emergency executive orders, and eliminating personal property taxes. Strickland is also pro-life.

Strickland also plans to introduce term limits for legislators. Strickland himself only intends to serve two four-year terms if elected.

Strickland is a native of Virginia whose family has been in the state for five generations. He is also an Army Veteran who enlisted in 2001 and served overseas in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Strickland opened Gourmeltz in 2016 as a food truck with his wife, Maria. The business grew to three trucks over a year.

In February 2018, Strickland sold the trucks and reopened Gourmeltz as a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Fredericksburg.

“I will bring the ambition and work ethic of an entrepreneur that has built a successful small business from nothing. Above all, I will be in Richmond not to make friends but to fiercely represent the people that elected me,” says Strickland.