They built Citrus on love. After a cancer diagnosis, they gave the restaurants to their Virginia Beach employees.

Editor’s note: Cheri Shores died Saturday, May 13.

Lance and Cheri Shores had their first date almost 30 years ago.

Love fueled the now husband and wife who built Citrus, a popular Virginia Beach restaurant. It seemed to spread to their employees and community of diners for 16 years and across its two locations.

But when Cheri was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer more than a year ago, the Shoreses decided to retire early and explore ways to give back to their employees — especially those who’ve been with them from the beginning — and this community.

A few months ago, the Shoreses gave the business to the staff so that the Citrus legacy could continue. Now, though Cheri has to rest often, she still helps Lance, who is building an outdoor kitchen for their Virginia Beach home — to begin another legacy.

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Lance was a military kid who was born at the Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune. Cheri, whose parents named her after the Stevie Wonder song “My Cherie Amour,” hails from Northern Virginia. The couple met in their 20s when she was a jewelry designer at Christian Bernard in Lynnhaven Mall and he was a bartender at the Oceanfront. They became friends and, around 1994, he asked her out. She said yes — and he stood her up.

He asked again, and this time he didn’t back out. In 2002, they married.

By then, Lance was a well-known bartender, and a friend of his father bought him a bar in Norfolk, 5150 on Shore Drive. It became a happening spot. Cheri helped with it while working in the jewelry business.

“I still had that drive,” Lance said. “I wanted to open a breakfast place.”

He saw the potential in a former boat repair shop on West Great Neck Road in Virginia Beach. They opened Citrus in 2006, the name conveying the idea of something fresh and different. It also reminded the Shoreses of the fruit trees they had seen on their travels to the Caribbean, Europe and Rome.

Cheri had majored in business at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, so she quit her job to help run the restaurant. His expertise was bartending and managing nightclubs.

“We didn’t know the cooking side,” he said.

They hired a kitchen manager and created all the recipes. Cheri came up with different specials every day — potato pancakes, fried chicken with scrambled eggs smothered in gravy. They worked with local watermen to put the jumbo lump crab omelet and other dishes on the menu, and bought produce from local farmers.

The bartenders, servers and chefs realized they were making as much money at a breakfast and lunch cafe as they could at a nighttime business, Lance said. Citrus didn’t experience the frequent employee turnover that’s common in restaurant work.

This also meant the couple spent even more time together.

“We woke up, went to work together, came home together,” Lance said. “We spent 24/7 together. It was a relationship and a partnership.”

Cheri handled the dishes coming out of the kitchen and prepared the desserts and recipes. She was also responsible for the bookkeeping and sometimes bused tables and washed dishes.

“She never took a day off,” Lance said.

She started IRA and 401(k) retirement plans for the staff. She mentored some of the women employees. The couple even helped an employee buy a truck when the person needed transportation.

In 2011, the Food Network came knocking and Citrus was featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

Citrus grew in popularity after that. Some days, the wait time became two hours.

Three years later, the couple purchased a former Ruby Tuesday and opened a second location, on North Great Neck Road. The business continued to grow and customers packed the place on the weekends.

When the pandemic hit in 2020 and restaurants closed, Citrus continued to pay its staff. Lance cooked and prepared the to-go orders. The Shoreses took employees to the Eastern Shore a couple of times a week to help farmers who were short-staffed.

“As other businesses fell apart, we bonded harder because we gave back,” Lance said.

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In 2021, Cheri was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

On Dec. 6, 2022, the couple announced on Facebook that they were retiring.

“Some of our businesses have been very successful because of the community’s support,” Lance said in March. “I thank my wife, I thank the community and I thank the support of my friends who have gotten me through this whole thing. My family has made the sacrifice.”

The social media post also revealed what was happening with their restaurants: In August, the staff received all of the shares in the company — the Shoreses’ way of honoring the employees and continuing Citrus.

“We changed the culture of how people were eating,” Lance said, “and now changing the culture of how people are retiring.”

Michael Beckner, the head chef and kitchen manager at Citrus on North Great Neck, has been working for the Shoreses from the beginning. He was surprised to learn about the gift.

“That was generous. I haven’t seen anything like it and I’ve been in the industry for 40 years,” Beckner said. ”I’m happy and appreciative.”

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Cheri, 51, still bakes treats for the ladies at the bank and spends time designing a house that she and Lance plan to build on their farm on the Eastern Shore. She designed the outdoor kitchen that they are contemplating letting local chefs use — Lance doesn’t want to give details but it will be another way to help people in the industry. He works on the farm and gets fish from watermen for other restaurants since he has fostered those relationships for 20 years.

Lance keeps busy while his wife creates from home. Retirement has allowed them time to reflect and enjoy the quiet. Their home’s white and tan decor fills the open space with warmth from the living room to the kitchen to the dining area. Sun shines through the windows overlooking the pool and the patio with the outdoor kitchen.

Lance choked up when thinking about his wife, who was resting in another room.

“So, when you meet a person and your happiness is their happiness, that’s true love.”

“Her kindness and love have touched many lives,” he said. ”That is her legacy.”

Through the tears, Lance continued, “Citrus has given me wisdom and love and has made me a better person. And my wife has too.”

Rekaya Gibson, 757-295-8809, rekaya.gibson@virginiamedia.com, on Twitter, @gibsonrekaya