McCormack is partnering with friend (and Lamb of God drummer) Chris Adler on the restaurant.

McCormack said Adler approached him about opening his own restaurant, one that could accommodate his wife's severe food allergies.

The two worked out a new concept - to bring Whisky Grill to the West End and to use the banquet kitchen to offer a special, allergen-free menu two days a week.

The space and separate kitchens weren't the only draw for the West End space, though: McCormack is emphatic that he will not open another restaurant in the city proper.

McCormack has owned and operated McCormack's Irish Pub in Shockoe Bottom since 1998 and said the city's decision to blockade streets in the Bottom in the wake of club violence five years ago cost him 85 percent of his sales in one year.

"I'm tired of city politics getting in the way of how business are operated," he said.