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December 1, 2020 by Nathan Hughes

Expanding Estate Sales with Myk-Beth’s

Michael Outen didn’t go from being a retired marine to estate sale extraordinaire overnight. However, a chance encounter while browsing a sale in his neighborhood changed that. The conversation turned into a job offer, and, as Michael puts it, “that was essentially the beginning of Myk-Beth’s Estate Sales.”

Before starting his own company, Michael learned the ins and outs of the business and also realized what so many estate sale companies weren’t doing. “Myk-Beth’s is a full-service estate sale company that not only does the estate sale and liquidates,” he says. “I’ve taken it a step further and we also prepare houses for the market.” While most companies leave as soon as the sale is over, Myk-Beth’s unique service also handles all of the donations of remaining items, removes all trash, and does whatever necessary to prepare a house for market, like painting, cleaning, and staging.

Since 2015, Myk-Beth’s Estate Sales has gained a reputation throughout their service area of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for their professionalism and treating their clients’ family treasures like their own. Eventually, as business grew, Michael realized the need for a warehouse space to use as storage and for hosting sales. It was time to move out of his personal garage and provide a bigger space for his growing company. 

Michael was introduced by a residential Realtor to Sperity, which was able to understand the estate sales business and Myk-Beth’s specific needs. “Before you can find a space for us,” Michael says, “you have to understand our business. Not every Realtor understood that, but I was happy that Sperity was able to.”

For the new space, Myk-Beth’s required close proximity to the highway, a clean storage space, and security for their vehicles and valuables. Sperity was able to find just that near Richmond International Airport, in the East End of Henrico County. Myk-Beth’s new home serves as not just vehicle parking and office space, but a location to conduct estate sales when needed as well as a place for employees to meet.

With business rapidly expanding from 30 estate sales per year to now about 100 sales per year, Myk-Beth’s will be looking to find an even bigger space soon. “I wouldn’t imagine or think of going to anyone else when I get ready for the next space,” Michael says. Working with Sperity, he says, was an outstanding experience.

Myk-Beth’s is located at 4204-C Eubank Road, Henrico, VA 23231. For more information visit www.mykbeths.com

Filed Under: Commercial Leasing, Henrico County Tagged With: business environment, business owners, commercial real estate, Local Businesses, Richmond, Virginia

August 28, 2020 by Nathan Hughes

The Scoop on Ruby Scoops

The fond memories Rabia Kamara held on to from her childhood have a common, sugary theme: ice cream. Now, she wants a space for others to create memories.

After applying to law school upon graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University, she realized this was not her path to happiness. Instead, she attended L’Académie de Cuisine in Maryland and garnered eight years of restaurant experience.

With the intention of opening her own shop one day, Rabia began exploring her dream while living in DC, making desserts for various restaurants.

With a competitive real estate market in DC, she decided to look at Richmond where she held fond memories of college. A friend connected her to Sperity Real Estate Ventures.

Originally, she wanted to be closer to the VCU campus but it didn’t feel quite right. The joint efforts of Veronica and the Sperity team resulted in finding a perfect location in Richmond’s northside.

After looking at several possibilities, one of which would require extensive renovations, Sperity found a location a few blocks away at 120 W. Brookland Park Blvd, on the same block as other food joints including Ms. Bee’s Juice Bar and Ninja Kombucha. The community reception met and exceeded Rabia’s expectations.

Emmett Wright joins Rabia in opening Ruby Scoops. They met rather serendipitously at a panel on women-owned ice cream businesses, as Emmett was interested in opening their own ice cream shop, too. Emmett also enjoys fond childhood memories that center around ice cream, and had found themselves producing ice cream at Helen’s, perfecting a dairy-free ice cream to serve friends in the community.

When the shop opens, expect prepackaged pints and sandwiches, vegan desserts and  milkshakes to-go. Once restrictions are loosened, handcrafted sundaes and custom cookies will be added to the mix. In the meantime, you can support Ruby Scoops on Kickstarter and find her at local pop-ups around the Richmond area.

“It was nice to have them on our side, doing the work to make sure that our dreams of being here were fulfilled. They’re amazing.” Rabia reminisced. “They were always there when we needed something and it’s rare to get that in any business situation. We were prioritized.”

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Commercial Leasing, Company News, Redevelopment, Restaurants, Retail Tagged With: business owners, City of Richmond, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, Local Businesses, Redevelopment, retail business, retail real estate, Richmond, Richmond neighborhoods, RVA, Virginia

July 15, 2020 by Nathan Hughes

Instrumental Growth for Spacebomb

When Spacebomb, a Richmond based record label and recording studio, began to outgrow their Shockoe Bottom studio, they knew it would be a challenge to find a space that fit their needs and would allow them to grow in the direction they needed. Through a mutual friend, they had met and gotten to know Nathan over the years and knew if anyone would be up for the challenge, it was the Sperity team. Nathan and Veronica worked together to ensure the Spacebomb team wouldn’t miss a beat.

Spacebomb started looking for a new space in 2017. As a record label and recording studio, they had unique needs that they knew would take time to find. They were looking for a space that would have room to house both the creative team and the folks running the label and production company all under the same roof. Keeping these two teams together allows for communication in an efficient and fast paced way. “It’s a necessity in our industry,” says Jesse Medaries. “The ability to make decisions on the fly is super useful.” This space would need to have both an office area, and a full recording studio.

What does a recording studio require? A simplified breakdown includes the “live room” and the “control room.” The live room houses microphones where instrumentalists and vocalists perform and the control room houses equipment where the engineers and producers record the “tracks.” These are very specific needs, and not every space is able to be accommodating.

Nathan and Veronica didn’t waste Spacebomb’s time by showing them just anything that was available. They knew what their needs were, and showed spaces that they believed would truly work for them. Jesse remembered, “We looked at a few spaces that could have worked but didn’t quite meet what we needed. Eventually she showed us the space that we’re currently in.” Plans changed and a few months went by before the team decided to go back and look at the 106 S Robinson Street space.

The new space has been instrumental in their growth. “We’ve had a ton of really positive feedback on the space alone,” chimed Jesse. A lot of time, thought, and energy went into creating Spacebomb’s new headquarters. Not just the recording studio, designed by partner Trey Pollard in consultation with Adrian Olsen (of Montrose Recording), but the overall vibe and aesthetic — two things important in the music and art industries.

On top of finding a new space, Nathan and Veronica were tasked with finding a sublet for their Shockoe Bottom location. Handling both parts allowed for Spacebomb to focus on what really mattered: taking care of the artists they managed, and producing music.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Commercial Leasing, Redevelopment Tagged With: business environment, business owners, City of Richmond, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, Local Businesses, real estate development, Redevelopment, Richmond, RVA, Virginia

July 13, 2020 by Nathan Hughes

My TOP 5 Favorite Projects [VIDEO]

My TOP 5 Favorite Projects:

Hey RICHMOND!!!Do you love supporting LOCAL businesses and organizations?That's what I love MOST about my job. I’ve been in the commercial real estate and brokerage world for over 15 years. I get to help local businesses and organizations find a place to call home right here in Richmond. In fact, here are my TOP 5 Favorite Projects:#1) Flooring RVA.We helped find them a new showroom with more space AND we were able to help find a tenant to replace their previous lease so they could make a clean break.#2) The Summit (Scott’s Addition area).Such a great, action packed area of town where we were able to help long time friends sell two different properties at the same time.#3) Nomad Deli & Catering Company.Anthony and his family are proof that the American Dream is alive. They started this family owned business as tenants, but eventually bought their building and have continued a successful (and delicious) restaurant!#4) LUX ChurchThis is a great community minded organization that brought life back into a building that was over 130 years old and an area landmark.#5) Liberty Public HouseWhen Alexa told us about her dream concept of a restaurant inside a renovated, historical building, we knew we had just the right property for her! In fact, she moved all the way back to Richmond from the west coast to fulfill her dream of being a restaurant owner.

Posted by Sperity Real Estate Ventures on Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Filed Under: Buying a Business, City of Richmond, Commercial Leasing, General, Hanover County, Henrico County, Investing, Multi-family Housing, Office Buildings, Restaurants, Retail, Selling a Business Tagged With: apartments, business brokering, business owners, buying a business, Church Hill, City of Richmond, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, Local Businesses, real estate development, Redevelopment, Restaurants, retail real estate, Richmond, Sperity, Virginia

July 10, 2020 by Nathan Hughes

Muslim Beauty Salon Lands Permanent Mark on Main Street

Permanent makeup? You may be raising an eyebrow, but that is exactly where this story starts. 4 years ago, Ashley Meggie decided to get permanent makeup eyebrows — that is, a tattoo that mimics eyebrows. With alopecia, she had been drawing on her eyebrows for several years but had only considered permanent makeup when a Youtube beauty guru recorded herself getting them done.

Tattoos are viewed negatively in the Muslim community, so prior to her appointment, Ashley visited the Islamic Center of Virginia to get permission. They officially ruled it was permissible for her (and others) to receive permanent eyebrows as a tattoo, as one is allowed to do what is necessary to achieve a level of “normalcy.”

It took Ashley a three hour drive to Maryland, a three hour procedure, and a three hour drive back to Richmond to accomplish, and that left her thinking that there had to be a way to bring this to Richmond. So she went to work researching and then studying to become a permanent makeup artist.

With a business plan developed, Ashley had been looking for a downtown location for Boastful Beauty for a few months with no success. On a visit to see a vacant building on East Grace Street she met Nathan Hughes by chance. After peering into a building curiously, Nathan stepped out to ask if she needed assistance, and their working relationship began right then, when after hearing about her vision, Nathan took her immediately to see a unit off of 5th and East Main Street.

After meeting Nathan, Ashley did some more research. “As a Muslim business, I really liked that he had a lot of ties in the religious community. He’s very involved with helping churches and community based programs find buildings.”

“East Main is definitely a major road. It’s just as synonymous as Broad Street to me. I couldn’t ask for a better location, and it’s a corner lot. You can see my business from two angles.”

Boastful Beauty is Virginia’s first and only Muslim beauty salon. There are only a few in the country, including California, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. People travel far and wide to visit, from Fredericksburg and Stafford to as far as Philadelphia.

“I didn’t realize I was doing a big thing, I went viral when I shared on Facebook. I had over 6,000 friends request in less than 24 hours. The Muslim community went crazy!”

Boastful Beauty also offers services for Muslim women like henna, hair wax/dying, press on nails instead of acrylics. But she stresses that all are welcome. Of the five on staff, two are Muslim, and the other 3 are from different backgrounds and races. “I want everyone to feel welcome here.” Everyone is represented. “When you look at our logo, you see diversity. All women are welcome to come to our salon.”

At only 25, Ashley took her vision and made it a reality. In the future she hopes to branch to Short Pump and offer more medi-spa procedures such as chemical peels, botox, and lymphatic drainage. While managing her new business, she’s also back in school and writing up a curriculum to found Boastful Academy, where she can train others to become professional permanent makeup artists.

“Anytime I called and asked for help, they had so many resources to share with me. I know they’ll represent me in the future when I’m ready to grow,” she says.

 

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Commercial Leasing, Retail Tagged With: business owners, City of Richmond, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, Local Businesses, retail business, retail real estate, Richmond, RVA, Virginia

May 1, 2013 by Amber Shiflett

Coworking finds its home in Richmond @804RVA

Over the past decade coworking spaces have been popping up in big cities across the nation and with the changes in the economy, these spaces have been successful in fostering new ideas and startup businesses.

Larkin Garbee

804RVA Founder Larkin Garbee Photo by: Phil Riggan, Richmond.com

In America the median income for independent workers is about $51 thousand, according to a 2012 government report by the State of Independence government report. This coworking movement has even made its way to the Richmond market. 804RVA is the area’s first and only official co-working space, which is fueled by creativity and techie innovation.

Coworking is a concept that was originally cultivated in the late 1990s from the term “jelly” in New York City by a group of freelancers and it has now evolved into a worldwide movement. The concept is to create a shared workspace for freelancers, consultants and other people who typically work from home. The idea is to develop a space where creativity and new ideas can grow and people can exchange designs while working productively and freely.

804RVA was founded October 2011 by local small business dynamo, Larkin Garbee. “I was just looking for a creative, collaborative office space and I hadn’t understood the coworking culture yet,” Garbee said. Wolf shirt days, creativity, collaboration and jelly pretty much sum up the co-working movement at RVA. 804RVA is located on the corner of Allen and Broad streets near the VCU campus.

Garbee’s personality and experience is the model that the 804RVA coworking structure was built around. “I have a passion for technology but I also represent a lot of other things for small businesses and marketing,” she said.

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804RVA is an artistic, joint office area that is built in the showroom of Garbee’s other business, James River Tile. “I felt like it was a shame to have such a really gorgeous location that was being completely underutilized,” said Garbee. It wasn’t long before 804RVA was created.
“I think Larkin is really kind of the main reason most people are attracted to this and keep coming and that’s because she is a freaking fireball,” said Dorsey McFadden a digital marketing consultant and 804RVA coworker.

804RVA provides its members with varying levels of coworking zones including private offices, collaborative spaces, semi-private work areas and conference rooms. People come to 804RVA for a number of reasons including the value of working with others, for a sense of motivation, inspiration and unique networking opportunities. At 804RVA coworking gives people an opportunity to meet and interact with their peers in an environment that facilitates productivity and learning.

“To me and the next generation as a whole, we don’t want to just spend our time just passing out business cards. We want to learn, we want to get our hands on stuff and figure out how it works,” Garbee said. “Some coworking spaces are unique to having strictly just developers or just designers and I would say ours is truly a mix.”

Coworkers at 804RVA come from a variety of professional backgrounds such as web design, real estate, copy writing, web developing, marketing and researching.

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804RVA is known for its culture because it is different from that of a traditional workplace culture, since there are no bosses there is no tension between supervisors and workers. “The culture changes day-to-day depending on who comes in,” said Dan Kanach, 804RVA coworker and owner of One Duck Creative, a small creative media company. “It is generally like-minded, driven people who want to be around other driven people.” Most 804 coworkers agree that 804RVA provides a fun environment where individuals are free to create and collaborate. “I couldn’t see myself working with other people if I wasn’t here,” Kasach said, who described himself as a bit of an introvert.

Matt Russo is another 804RVA coworker who has been a member almost since the beginning. Russo is a freelance graphic designer and is currently working developing projects for 804RVA. He says 804 is still trying to invent its culture. Currently people are working hands-on trying to make the space a more active community rather than a place used strictly for working. “Members are trying to make 804RVA a place where people interact together, work on projects together and go out together,” Russo said. 804RVA offers classes and organizes social events to strengthen the overall coworking community.

Brian Bassett is a software development principal at IBM and a coworker at 804RVA who chooses to work from 804RVA instead of his traditional office setting because he finds the environment to be more dynamic, exciting, interesting and collaborative. “It’s collaborative even though people work on their own projects, work for different businesses and have different goals,” Basset said.

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Coworking is especially helpful to freelancers and remote workers because it provides those people with a sense of community and inspiration. “It creates a melting pot of creativity,” McFadden said, “not just design creative but techie too.” McFadden sees coworking spaces as motivational tools and she is driven by the office setting because it pushes her to be more accountable.

Coworking facilities like 804RVA operate based on memberships and provide members with better quality networking and stronger relationships. McFadden says small business people get the most out of these networking connections because it makes it easier access others and collaborate.

Coworking has helped some members break into new, cutting edge technology-based job markets. McFadden says coworking helps to hone professional skills and mold individual qualities and as a result of 804RVA she landed her first Pinterest account management job.

After talking with Garbee and Richmond’s coworkers the consensus is that people are tired of waiting on big companies to offer up jobs so they have taken matters into their own hands and created new jobs and projects through collaboration. People often turn to coworking spaces like 804RVA because of the lack of opportunities in traditional careers.

Some people agree with Dorsey McFadden and Dan Kanach and say coworking spaces serve a greater purpose as more transitional occupations. On the other hand others agree with Russo and Bassett and say these collaboration spaces have great potential to ultimately lead to better opportunities and new industries. As for Larkin Garbee, she says the future looks bright for coworking spaces in Richmond. As new ideas grow and evolve, she looks forward to playing host to more collaborative projects and classes in the future. She is currently planning on a larger scaled coworking space that will serve a larger community in the Greater Richmond Area by making things more accessible to non-members.

 

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Commercial Leasing, Office Buildings Tagged With: business environment, business owners, City of Richmond, commercial real estate, coworking, downtown Richmond, Local Businesses, Richmond, RVA, Virginia

March 29, 2013 by Nathan Hughes

Avalon Restaurant & Bar — SOLD!

sign for Avalon

2619 West Main Street, Richmond, VA

There are very few restaurants that have the distinction of having been successfully run for 16+ years 20 years [editor’s note: confirmed after posting that the start year was 1993!], and even more rare is the restaurant that has done so with only one set of owners. Avalon Restaurant & Bar at 2619 West Main Street, in the Fan District, has done so under the care of owner Peter Harahan since he first renovated and opened it so many years ago.

Even as a well-established restaurant, Avalon has recently gained recognition by bringing in Chef Jen Mindell to add her well-known flair to the kitchen. Chef Mindell was recently recognized by the Richmond restaurant community as a 2013 Elby Nominee for “Rising Culinary Star”.

Walied Sanie and James Baldwin just completed the purchase of Avalon Restaurant & Bar

Walied Sanie and James Baldwin just completed the purchase of Avalon Restaurant & Bar

Congratulations to the new owners, Walied Sanie and James Baldwin (pictured), who took the reins from Peter Harahan effective late yesterday afternoon. The new owners are keeping the staff in place and will do some remodeling after getting settled into ownership. I look forward to seeing how their vision of the restaurant develops and the changes you will make happen over the years to come.

This particular restaurant holds a special place in my heart because not only have I been close friends with a number of the staff here over the years, but also it is the place where I met my wife several years ago. It means a lot to me to have been involved in this deal, and I appreciate that it will remain to be Avalon under the new ownership.

**Richard Holden and Nathan Hughes, both with Bandazian & Holden, Inc., brokered the sale of the business and coordinated the new lease with the owner of the building.

Filed Under: B&H News, City of Richmond, Commercial Leasing, Restaurants Tagged With: Bandazian & Holden, business brokering, business owners, City of Richmond, commercial real estate, Restaurants, Richmond, RVA, Virginia

December 26, 2012 by Nathan Hughes

2013 Elby Award nominees have been announced!

Here at Bandazian & Holden, we are proud to be a Silver Sponsor of the 2nd Annual Richmond Magazine Elby Awards! This awards program is THE restaurant awards program for Richmond, Virginia and was a hit from the start, last year. This is a time when the stars of the Richmond restaurant scene (some of the ongoing conversation can be found under #rvadine in the Twitterverse) take time out to honor the best and brightest among them.

I have not been involved in the selection or judging processes, but I don’t envy such a difficult decision. We have a lot of great talent and passionate operators and chefs here in town, and I hope that these awards will continue to honor and encourage more talent to develop.

If you are in any way involved in the restaurant scene, I encourage you to buy tickets and attend. Come support your favorite spots!

The event is on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the doors open at 6pm. The awards are held at 6:30pm with a reception afterwards.

2013 NOMINEES 

Fine Dining Restaurant

  • Acacia Mid-town
  • Arcadia
  • Julep’s
  • Lemaire
New Restaurant (Opened between Nov. 1 2011 and Oct. 31, 2012)

  • Deco Ristorante
  • Heritage
  • Peter Chang China Café
  • Tio Pablo
Excellence in Service

  • Tiffany Gellner of The Magpie
  • Paul Heitz at Amour
  • Wendy Kalif at Bistro Bobette
  • John Van Peppen at Arcadia
Upscale Casual

  • Pasture
  • The Roosevelt
  • Sapori
  • Stella’s
Cocktail Program

  • Heritage
  • Lemaire
  • Pasture
  • The Roosevelt
Rising Culinary Star

  • Kyle Cox of Patina
  • Carly Herring of the Dining Room at the Berkeley
  • Jen Mindell of Avalon
  • Mike Yavorsky of Belmont Food Shop
Neighborhood Restaurant

  • Africanne on Main
  • The Black Sheep
  • Kuba Kuba
  • Tastebuds American Bistro
Restaurateur of the Year

  • Jason Alley of Comfort & Pasture
  • Kendra Feather of Garnett’s, Ipanema & The Roosevelt
  • Ren Mefford and Chris Tsui of EAT Restaurant Partners
  • Paul Keevil of Millie’s, LuLu’s and Tio Pablo
Chef of the Year

  • Tim Bereika of Secco Wine Bar
  • Peter Chang of Peter Chang China Café
  • Lee Gregory of The Roosevelt
  • Dale Reitzer of Acacia Mid-town
Culinary Student of the Year

  • Dana Goodchild at Culinard
  • Stephanie Louise Boehles at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
  • Jean Marie Kennedy at University of Richmond’s Center for Culinary Arts 

 

Who are you hoping will win? Who isn’t mentioned on this list that you think deserved to be on there? I would love to hear what you think!

Filed Under: B&H News, Restaurants Tagged With: Bandazian & Holden, business environment, business owners, City of Richmond, Restaurants, Richmond, RVA, Virginia

June 15, 2012 by Lauren Noelle Gauthier

RVA To Adopt Mass Transit by 2015

Good news, RVA!  After years of city-wide planning and discussions forums by various Richmond-based transportation groups like GRTC, VDOT and VHSR, mass transit is finally coming to Richmond.

Officially underway and expected to launch in 2015, GRTC will be implementing a “Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)” system from Willow Lawn to Rocketts Landing, with Main Street Station as a passenger drop-off/pick-up hub.

The first step towards bringing mass transit to Richmond, the idea of BRT is to have a large passenger bus run on a dedicated track lane that will bring large amounts of travelers to point-to-point destinations.

Ultimately, the BRT system will lay the foundation for an INTER-city passenger rail service, the “Light Rail,” to connect the whole Central VA region; from Norfolk to Petersburg to Fredericksburg to Washington, DC.

In a recent interview with Danny Plaugher, Executive Director for Virginians for High Speed Rail (VHSR), we discussed VHSR’s recent 16th Annual Meeting, “Connecting Virginia: How Regional Intercity and Light Rail are Changing Virginia.”

“VHSR hosted the meeting, because we felt there is so much positive news happening right now, in terms of rail development throughout Virginia.  Norfolk launched a Light Rail system called “The Tide” in August 2011, and in less than a year has exceeded more than one million riders.  More than 50,000 riders used the Light Rail service this past weekend alone.

Richmond needs to take this same initiative.  As an organization, VHSR wants to highlight all of our successes, including Norfolk, and focus on utilizing these models in other VA cities such as Richmond.”

As for what VSHR’s 2012 plans mean for Richmond business, Plaugher reveals the City’s latest plans for mass transit, details of where BRT will run and answers some burning questions weighing on the mind of Richmond residents.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Government Institutions, Transportation Tagged With: business environment, Daniel Plaugher, downtown Richmond, high speed rail, inter-city rail, intra-city, light rail, light rail transit system, regional inter-city rail, Richmond, VHSR, Virginia, Virginia Department of Transportation, Virginians for High Speed Rail, walkability

June 1, 2012 by CarliAmber

Richmond Broadens Its Taste Buds at Broad Appetit

Did you know that (according to the National Restaurant Association) for every $1 spent in any of Virginia’s restaurants, 97 cents of that dollar goes back to helping build revenue for the Virginia economy?

Well, this coming Sunday, June 3rd will prove to be a HUGE boost for Richmond restaurants as well as the Virginia economy with the 5th Annual Broad Appetit Festival, happening downtown in Richmond’s Arts District.

 The highly anticipated festival, which runs from 11 AM – 6 PM, will stretch from the 100 to 300 blocks of West Broad Street and give Richmond natives, visitors, families, students and foodies alike a great sampling of the diverse, eclectic Richmond restaurant scene.

There will be over 60 local chefs, live music, youth activities and of course cuisine from popular restaurants like Bistro 27, Blowtoad, Comfort, Cous Cous, Olio and Six Burner.

Food prices will range from $3.00-$5.00 a plate as well as offer a variety of combos and mixed plates.

This will be the first time in festival history that Broad Appetit will feature exclusive Virginia beers and its first ever People’s Choice Awards, where festival attendees can vote for their favorite dishes.

To give back to the Richmond community, Broad Appetit is donating a percentage of proceeds from the festival to the Central Virginia Food Bank and Meals on Wheels.  Last year, a record crowd of over 30,000 gathered for last year’s festival, making Broad Appetit Richmond’s largest dining festival in Richmond’s history.

Broad Appetit  plays host to live music and events for all ages. It is the place where food and art intersect.

So, while you’re gearing up a hefty appetite for Broad Appetit on Sunday, take a walk around Richmond and experience the flavor that this eclectic city has to offer.

Which restaurant are you looking forward to trying out most at the festival?

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Restaurants Tagged With: Broad Appetit, business environment, business owners, Central Virginia Foodbank, downtown Richmond, Meals on Wheels, Restaurants, Richmond, Richmond restaurants, Virginia

May 30, 2012 by Lauren Noelle Gauthier

Carytown Cupcakes Expands AND Crepes Come to Carytown

For all you dessert enthusiasts out there anticipating the next sweets shop to open up in Carytown, the time is almost here!  Among a bevy of bakeries, sweets and confectionery shops, Carytown will be adding to its list of sweets shops a bigger location for Carytown Cupcakes and a new dining spot for French cuisine: Carytown Creperie.

Carytown Cupakes, a Richmond tradition known for its decadent desserts, is opening its new location at 3111 West Cary Street, across from Can Can Brasserie.  A grand opening date for the new location is still up in the air, but owners Dawn & Albert Schick promise the new and improved cupcake boutique is coming soon with even better cupcake concoctions. (Meanwhile, the old location at 2820 West Cary Street is still open!)

After the big move, the former cupcake shop will be magically transformed into Carytown Creperie, a new crepe shop featuring the traditional French-inspired cuisine with a twist: fast, take-away crepes for on-the-go dining.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: B&H News, City of Richmond, Commercial Leasing, Restaurants, Retail Tagged With: Albert Schick, Babycake Cupcakes, Bandazian & Holden, business owners, Carytown Creperie, Carytown Cupcakes, commercial real estate, crepe, cupcake documentary, cupcakes, Dawn Schick, Jim Szilaygi, retail business, retail real estate, Richmond, thin pancake, Virginia

May 25, 2012 by Lauren Noelle Gauthier

Brown Greer Goes Waterfront on Rocketts Landing

Five years ago, Rocketts Landing – the rural neighborhood of Richmond bordering Downtown and Churchill along the James River – was desolate, barren and considered as just a watering hole by local fisherman. It was pretty much unheard of by the general public.

Two years ago, that all changed with The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing opening in 2010 and The Conch Republic soon after in 2011. The area was completely transformed into an attractive, scenic stretch of restaurants along the James and tourists, visitors, locals, couples, families and Richmond-ers flocked like seagulls.

Today, Rockett’s Landing is making an even bigger splash. One of the Richmond area’s biggest law firms, Brown Greer, is relocating its headquarters to the 38,000-square-foot Cedar Works Building along the riverfront on Dock Street.

Although the building still needs to be renovated, there are major factors in favor of moving to Rocketts, according to Principal Orran Brown: convenient parking, the location, and the long-term prospects of what Rocketts Landing could develop into.

Rocketts Landing Memorial Day 2012 event

Check out these recent articles in the Times-Dispatch and Richmond BizSense, which give a more detailed look into Brown Greer’s latest urban development.

In the mean time, be sure to visit Rocket’s Landing on Sunday, May 27th for Rocketts Red Glare.  The event will feature the Kings of Swingband and a fireworks display to benefit the Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton.

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Henrico County, Multi-family Housing, New Development, New Urbanism, Office Buildings, Redevelopment, Restaurants, Retail Tagged With: Brown Greer, Cedar Works Building, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, legal, real estate development, Redevelopment, Richmond, Rockett's Landing, The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing, Virginia

May 24, 2012 by Nathan Hughes

Blackfinn to sell downtown location to a local restaurant group

From a press release received this morning:

RICHMOND, VA (May 24, 2012) – BlackFinn American Saloon, located at 1001 Haxall Point, today announced its plans to sell the restaurant to a local ownership group. The restaurant will remain closed until a sale is completed and the new ownership group has finalized its rebranding of the current space.

BlackFinn has been the sole restaurant tenant of the mixed-use Riverside on the James development since it first opened its doors in 2006. The new tenant will benefit from the revitalization plans that are in place for the surrounding Canal Walk area.

“With the efforts to update and expand the current offerings in the area, we feel that this is a good time and opportunity for both seller and buyer,” said BlackFinn operating partner Ryan Golbitz. “It’s been six terrific years and we are grateful for the support and the business that our community has provided.”

Details of the new restaurant’s name and theme are expected to be announced closer to the reopening date, estimated around fall of 2012.

Anyone else know details? I’ll update if I hear anything.

Be sure to watch the local news outlets for more updates/information.

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Restaurants Tagged With: commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia

December 19, 2011 by Nathan Hughes

“New” development north of Broad on Staples Mill

About once a month I get a question about the large, vacant property that borders Staples Mill Road that is just north of West Broad Street, right over the Henrico Count line. My answer is always that it was an old, rundown neighborhood that was purchased and cleared with the intention of rebuilding, and that the developer is the same group that is doing the project at Monument Avenue and Willow Lawn Drive — Gumenick Properties. As to why it hasn’t been started, well just look around at new building all around the country. The developer was obviously waiting until the economy turns around.

But, I always have to give that answer with the caveat that the last official word I had heard about it was a few years ago. I couldn’t even be sure that the same plans were in place. Thankfully I can point to this article on Richmond.com that gives us the lowdown on the current situation — which is pretty much as described as above. It sounds as though things are just on hold, but the same big plans are still on the books. In fact, this project is expected to take 10 years even once they finally get underway.

You need to go read the article to see all of the reported details, but I thought I would share a couple of details of the plans here:

What: Staples Mill Centre, proposed to include 1,096 apartments, 571 condominiums, 391 townhouses, 32 single-family homes, 60,000 square feet of offices, and 100,000 square feet of stores.

Where: About 80 acres between Staples Mill Road, Libbie Avenue and Bethlehem Road, near Interstate 64.

[cetsEmbedGmap src=http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Staples+Mill+Rd+%26+Suburban+Ave,+Richmond,+VA&hl=en&ll=37.591213,-77.49316&spn=0.011885,0.026157&sll=37.588289,-77.492216&sspn=0.011953,0.026157&vpsrc=0&hnear=Staples+Mill+Rd+%26+Suburban+Ave,+Brookland,+Henrico,+Virginia+23230&t=m&z=16 width=350 height=425 marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=yes]

Filed Under: Commercial Leasing, Henrico County, Multi-family Housing, New Development, Office Buildings, Redevelopment, Residential, Retail Tagged With: commercial real estate, Henrico County, real estate development, Redevelopment, Richmond, Virginia

November 21, 2011 by Alix Bryan

One Richmond bar scores big and creates a legacy

Twenty-five years ago, one business man invested heavily in the future he saw on Main Street

Just two decades ago, sports bars weren’t very common. This is a community story for locals and sports fans, about one of Richmond’s first sports bars, the changing city landscape around VCU and the retirement of one well-respected business owner.

One Richmond bar scores big and creates a legacy

While the city hosts numerous restaurants and acclaimed cuisine, we also have an often overlooked local sports bar–not a big chain–that’s worthy of a boisterous hurrah.

Mulligans Sport’s Grille first swung open its doors in 1990 to reveal about 20 televisions inside–none of them flat screens–all broadcasting sports games and commentary.

Think about that novelty. The playing field for sports bars used to be fairly empty of any competition.

Harken back to the early 90s, if you can. The daily routine was sans internet, cable television was not a household standard–and it certainly did not supply the multiple sports networks available now. There was an audible welcome from sports fans–to the extent that the dream of three men multiplied into six restaurants.

Mulligan’s first opened in Short Pump, before the area was the bustling “suburban downtown” that so many city dwellers love to hate. Now home to Capital Ale House, the space is 12,000 square feet.

The first store was so successful that by its second year, the bouncers came to work before the waitstaff.  They were needed to control the the crowds who would try to push inside when the waitresses arrived, as to stake early claim to the best seats in the house. The Wednesday concert series brought thousands to Innsbrook, and hundreds would just camp out at Mulligans, many taking in the concert from the comfort of the patio.

John Sweeney, along with the Hurley brothers, Mark and Matt, were experimental business owners. They tried off-the-wall things like “cook your own steak” night, where hot grills stood ready for the sports aficionado to meet tong to meet steak.

The investors ran with their game plan, opening a total of six locations. After the Innsbrook location came Mulligans in Mechanicsville, Sixth Street Market Place, Southside, the Fan and then Farmville.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: B&H News, Buying a Business, City of Richmond, Company News, Hanover County, Henrico County, Restaurants, Selling a Business Tagged With: Bandazian & Holden, business brokering, business owners, buying a business, Restaurants, Virginia

September 26, 2011 by Nathan Hughes

Starting a business in Richmond? You don’t want to miss this!

Being involved in helping start-ups in Richmond, we often get invitations to attend sessions put on by the Economic Development departments of the local governments. When we get them, I’ll make sure to post them here for your reference. The ones I’ve attended in the past have been extremely helpful and great brush ups on the resources that the localities provide for small business.

Here is the email from the City of Richmond that we received regarding the upcoming event:

As part of our  ongoing efforts to provide you with valuable information & resources, the City of Richmond Department of Economic and Community Development-Business First Richmond Program is pleased to announce another in our series of free educational seminars.

The City of Richmond Department of Economic & Community Development and the Virginia Department of Business Assistance will host the first in a two part series on establishing and  growing your business.   Part I in the series the” Entrepreneur Express Seminar” will address the basic concerns of establishing a business in Richmond.  The seminar will be held Wednesday, October 12, 2011 from 8:30 am to noon at the Police Training Academy, 1202 W. Graham Road, Richmond, Virginia 23220.  (See Entrepreneur Express Seminar Flyer for details)   Please share this information with your clients and colleagues.

To sign up (free!), you can either register online by clicking here, or call 804-371-0058.

Oh, and make sure to let me know if you’re going to be there! Leave a comment here or at least be sure to come up and say hello when  you see me there.

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Government Institutions Tagged With: Bandazian & Holden, business environment, business owners, downtown Richmond, government, Richmond, Virginia

September 26, 2011 by Nathan Hughes

Virginia ABC laws changing soon

Bar at Deanna's

*image courtesy of Alan Turkus (http://www.flickr.com/people/aturkus/)

A common complaint in the restaurant industry here in Richmond is about how outdated and difficult (and sometimes just plain nonsensical) the ABC regulations are, especially for start-ups. Well it might finally be time for that to change:

…the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control Board is for the first time in 20 years reviewing and updating all of its regulations in an effort to rewrite or eliminate any antiquated and burdensome restrictions. And they’ve asked the state’s merchants to help, giving them until Oct. 17 to propose changes.

Read more at the Washington Examiner

You heard them, folks. If you have an ABC license, then they want to hear from you! Be a part of the updates in the ABC laws. If you’ve seen what can be done better, now is your chance to speak up.

Where to speak up? I’m not exactly sure. I checked the Virginia ABC website and didn’t see anything specific about the initiative, but calling them directly would be a good place to start. If you do know the reporting process, please leave a comment with the information.

(Thank you to Richmond BizSense for pointing out this article in their morning email. If you’re not receiving it already, then you might want to rectify that.)

Filed Under: Government Institutions, Legal, Restaurants Tagged With: ABC law, Bandazian & Holden, business environment, government, legal, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia

September 25, 2011 by Nathan Hughes

It’s true, RVA, Mint is coming to the Fan!

There was a rumor floating around for the past few weeks that Amy Cabaniss, the owner of Julep’s in Shockoe Bottom, was purchasing the building where Davis & Main operated a long-standing restaurant for decades. There was good reason for the rumor, because it was true!

Amy closed on the deal to purchase the real estate and the equipment at 2501 West Main Street this past Friday afternoon. Richard Holden, Principal Broker at Bandazian & Holden, represented Amy in the purchase.

It has been on the market for some time. Fan of the Fan reported back in June that the restaurant had closed, and I know that it had been for sale for some time before that. We are proud that Bandazian & Holden was part of making this sale happen, and even more proud that such a fine restaurateur will be the one taking over.

The new restaurant will be Mint New Casual Cuisine. From all of the great ideas that I’ve heard from Amy and from the reactions I’ve heard so far from the neighbors, the Fan District will be very happy to have her there!

Congratulations on the purchase, Amy! I can’t wait to try out the new place!

[blackbirdpie id=”117321754979999745″]

Filed Under: B&H News, Buying a Business, City of Richmond, Restaurants Tagged With: Bandazian & Holden, business owners, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia

June 27, 2011 by Nathan Hughes

Richmond restaurant pioneer dies at age 85

While we have many talented restaurateurs and chefs in Richmond, but only a handful can claim such a long-lasting impression on Richmond’s restaurant landscape as Stavros “Steve” Dikos can.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a wonderful article that commemorates his restaurant legacy. Read it — you will recognize the restaurant names! Dikos was the father of Katrina Dikos Giavos, whose husband Johnny Giavos is mentioned so much in the local restaurant scene because of their string of highly successful restaurant ventures (3 Monkeys, Kitchen 64, Sidewalk Cafe, etc).

Mr. Dikos passed away over the weekend of heart problems at the age of 85. My thoughts go to his family, and all of the people whose lives he touched, as they work through this loss.

Filed Under: Restaurants Tagged With: business owners, downtown Richmond, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia

February 7, 2011 by Nathan Hughes

How to make zoning easier to understand

Government regulations are typically so complicated that not only can the lay-person not understand what they mean, but they are written in such a way that even people that think they know what is meant are left arguing completely different interpretations.  Zoning regulations are no exception.

In fact, in NYC the zoning regulations are so convoluted that “In a recent case, a judge said the word “development,” which appears at least 2,500 times in the [zoning] resolution, did not mean what the city said.” (source: New York Times article — we’ll see more about that article in just a minute)

The Planning Commissioner for NYC, Amanda Burden, is attempting to make the zoning regulations a little more accessible to the general public by issuing a new city handbook with plain explanations and cartoon drawings that illustrate what particular zoning designations look like and what they mean.  Check out the coverage in the New York Times about what she has been doing to bridge that gap.

While this may not be the right approach for every locality, the idea is one that every local government should take to heart:  Start building tools that puts control of the government back into the hands of the people.  Sure, we elect officials to represent us and we should not be ruled by mob mentality (see: California), but the people also need to be able to understand what is being done — especially when we are expected to interpret these rules and abide by them.

I have seen far too many business and property owners try to follow the rules that have been laid out, only to find a health inspector or building inspector come in with a totally different understanding and cost the owner thousands of dollars in hard cost and lost business because the rules were not clear enough.

What do you think, Richmond? Have you had any issues with the local zoning regulations (city or county)? What would you suggest could be done to make the rules more clear?

Filed Under: Government Institutions, Legal, Redevelopment Tagged With: Bandazian & Holden, business environment, business owners, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, government, legal, real estate development, Redevelopment, Richmond, Virginia, zoning

February 6, 2011 by Nathan Hughes

Redevelopment plans for Carytown get nod from Museum District

The redevelopment of the old Verizon building at 10 N. Nansemond Street has been hotly debated and contested. (see: the official site for the Carytown Place; Don’t Big Box Carytown‘s website; & this post and the accompanying comment thread on Caramelized Opinions for a good summary & feel of the debate)

The Museum District Association had originally ruled to oppose the redevelopment based on the original plans, but Friday they sent out a press release announcing the reversal of that position.  The gist of the situation can be summed up from this one paragraph in the press release:

The Board voted 13-1 in November to oppose the original SUP and subsequently provided the applicant with detailed requests for further changes to make it more amenable to the neighborhood. The applicant responded by altering the SUP to remove vehicular ingress/egress on Nansemond Street as well as reduce the number of available uses of the property to 10 uses. The applicant also agreed to limit the usable floor space of any one tenant to no more than 25,000 square feet, ensuring there would be multiple tenants in the building and ruling out a single, larger “big box” tenant.

The whole press release can be read here on the MDA’s website (right now it’s at the top, but it will shift down the page as new releases are issued).

What do you think? Are you satisfied with the MDA’s ruling, or are the changes in the plan not enough for you? In that case, what changes would be enough to get your support for the development?

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Commercial Leasing, Government Institutions, Investing, New Urbanism, Redevelopment, Retail, Shopping Centers, Transportation Tagged With: business environment, business owners, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, government, real estate development, Redevelopment, Richmond, Virginia, walkability

January 24, 2011 by Nathan Hughes

Exciting times for a local revitalization organization

The Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (A.C.O.R.N.) has worked diligently for more than a decade to “promote the purchase and renovation of vacant and abandoned buildings in Richmond’s oldest neighborhoods.” This past Friday, ACORN announced some big news that will help them in that mission, and that’s exciting for all of Richmond. I’ll let their press release speak for itself:

The Alliance
to Conserve
Old Richmond Neighborhoods

Press Release
January 21, 2011

The Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhood Joins Better Housing Coalition

The Alliance is pleased and excited to announce a new step in its evolution and a greater opportunity to improve lives in Richmond. As of January 31, 2011 The Alliance will be moving to become part of the Better Housing Coalition (BHC) family as its Center for Neighborhood Revitalization. The Center will expand BHC services for the Richmond community and continue to provide educational programs and urban revitalization tools for communities and residents.

The Alliance brings to BHC both experience and programs that benefit prospective homeowners in their desire to renovate and preserve older and historic properties; and this opportunity allows The Alliance to increase its capacity of programs and services, thereby continuing its mission of conserving and rebuilding Richmond’s neighborhoods.

The Alliance executive director, David Herring, will become the vice president of BHC’s Center for Neighborhood Revitalization.

The Alliance property director, Lane Pearson, will support BHC’s Center programs as revitalization strategy manager.

“Moving Richmond’s affordable housing climate forward often requires preserving its past,” said T.K. Somanath, president of BHC. “With the skills and knowledge The Alliance staff brings to the table, we can bolster our work to revitalize Richmond’s urban core featuring well designed, walkable developments that mix residential and commercial uses, integrating the places we live, work and shop.”

John McCann, chairman of BHC’s Board of Directors, said, “We also look forward to tapping the talents of Board members from The Alliance, who have provided unwavering support for The Alliance’s mission and outreach.”

The two organizations are delighted to be integrating programs of The Alliance into Better Housing Coalition in order to continue to strengthen Richmond communities now and for the future.

ALLIANCE TO CONSERVE OLD RICHMOND NEIGHBORHOODS
104 SHOCKOE SLIP, LOWER LEVEL ~  RICHMOND, VA 23219 

DAVID HERRING

DIRECTOR

LANE PEARSON
PROPERTY DIRECTOR

Filed Under: Charity/Non-profit, City of Richmond, Multi-family Housing, Redevelopment, Residential Tagged With: Church Hill, downtown Richmond, non-profit, Redevelopment, Richmond, Virginia

November 28, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

Nominate your favorite Richmond charity for cash

Looking for a really easy way to get some money for a charity that’s near and dear to your heart? Look no further!  (not really…do this and then keep looking, because good causes can use all of the publicity and monetary support that they can get)

Richmondmom.com is one of Richmond’s premier family resources online, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving and the holiday season, they are giving away gift cards through GiveRichmond.org to support charitable organizations.  Click here to go to see the full details on the contest.

There is a nomination process running through November 30, 2010 (this Tuesday!) where anyone can weigh in and submit their favorite Richmond charity. Give a great reason and your pet project may just win! Tell your friends and tell the organization to rally support and get votes.  The voting will run through most of December.

And the best thing about this is that everyone wins, no matter which organization actually gets the money. All of the nominees will be great non-profits that are helping make Richmond a better place to live and work.

Filed Under: Charity/Non-profit, Web/Tech Tagged With: non-profit, Richmond, Virginia

October 24, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

Play-by-play on the Richmond restaurant discussion

Last Tuesday was “An Evening at Morton’s”, where a select group of individuals involved in Richmond’s restaurant community were brought together to discuss Richmond’s food culture.  You can see my write-up and some useful links here.

I wanted to be sure you were aware of a few more resources that are especially useful if you weren’t able to follow along that night:

  • All of the participants answered some introductory questions before the panel, and the answers can be found here.
  • The live blog and questions from participants online were recorded and can be read in their entirety here.
  • Here is the NBC12 coverage of the event, and there is a video on that same page of the coverage.  The part of the report focused on the Steak Chat starts about halfway through the video.

I would love to hear what you thought of the discussion, and any insights you may have to share that didn’t get covered that night.  There was a lot to cover, and we could have gone on for hours — so there are definitely topics that didn’t get fully discussed.

Filed Under: B&H News, Restaurants, Weblogs Tagged With: Bandazian & Holden, business environment, business owners, commercial real estate, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia

October 19, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

Richmond’s Food Culture — join in on the discussion tonight!

I’ve followed the ongoing series “An Evening at Morton’s” since it started off the year with a discussion on the Young Professional Business Climate, so I know that this is an exciting group and they have spun off some great discussions already.

Rather than rehash what has been said previously, I encourage you to read what Richmond.com has to say about the format of the evening and how you can participate. (nudge: go here)

[Okay, I lied. I am going to rehash just a little bit.] The masterminds behind the evening pick a topic, get experts together around a table at Morton’s Steakhouse down in Shockoe Slip, have a moderator facilitate the discussion, live blog & live tweet it, take questions and interactions with folks following along at home, record it, and release follow up posts wrapping up what was learned from the evening.

Thus is born #steakchatrva, or the long version, An Evening at Morton’s.

The topic on the table this month is Richmond’s Food Culture, which is a topic that is very near to my heart (and wallet, considering that most of what I do as a Commercial Realtor and Business Broker has to do with restaurants).  I had heard of the topic and suggested some folks and angles on the topic to make things interesting.  It hadn’t occurred to me that I might be asked to be at the table, so I was honored and excited to get the call.

We have a great panel for tonight’s discussion (taken straight from Richmond.com’s article on the evening):

  • Brandon Fox (@bpfox), Richmond Magazine Dining Columnist & RHome Managing Editor
  • Andy Howell, Cafe Rustica owner and chef
  • Nathan Hughes (@rvabusiness) Bandazian & Holden VP & Sales Manager
  • Karri Peifer (@KarriPeifer), Richmond.com food writer & editor
  • Randy O’Dell (@Bellytimber), co-owner Bellytimber & Mezzanine
  • Heather Sullivan, NBC 12 co-anchor NBC12 News Today & “Restaurant Report“
  • Deveron Timberlake, Style Weekly food and drink editor
  • Michelle Williams, deLux, Europa, The Hard Shell, Water Grill, The Hill Cafe chef / owner

While there are lots of people that could be included in the discussion, as evidenced by the larger than normal panel this month, there is only but so much space at the table.  It is always important to note that while we are representatives of the community, we are not the end-all to the topic and need the rest of the community to step up and participate.  We don’t want to lose the other voices that are equally important in the discussion.

So here is how you can participate:

  • Follow the conversation on Twitter by clicking here to see everything that is tagged with #steakchatrva, and use the hashtag #steakchat to appear in that stream to participate on Twitter.
  • Go to Richmond.com here and scroll down for the input form anytime before the event tonight to set a reminder.
  • Watch the live blogging here starting at 6:30pm tonight, October 19th, to see the discussion unfold.

What do you think we should be talking about? Have anything you would like to share?  Feel free to leave a comment or two here, if the urge should strike you.  Just keep in mind that I won’t be checking the blog once the discussion is underway, so chime in on the other channels listed above to have your voice heard after 6:30pm tonight!

Filed Under: B&H News, Restaurants, Weblogs Tagged With: Bandazian & Holden, business environment, business owners, commercial real estate, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia

October 11, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

Great dining + a great cause = Restaurant Week 2010

I love it when the restaurant community comes together for good times and to support a local non-profit.  Arguably, one of the biggest restaurant events of the year in Richmond is Restaurant Week.

Richmond Restaurant Week 2010 runs the last week in October, Monday the 25th through Sunday the 31st.

Here is a description of the event straight from the official Richmond Restaurant Week website:

Richmond Restaurant week is in its 9th year. Each year, 25+ local, independently-owned restaurants gather together to get behind a cause aligned with their interest: food. The restaurants each offer a 3-course menu for a set price, this year $25.10, and donate a portion, this year $2.10, of each meal purchased to benefit Meals on Wheels in conjunction with the Central Virginia Food Bank. We’ve seen great success in years past and have donated tens of thousands of dollars to feed the hungry in the Richmond area. Come out and try a new place or visit your favorite restaurant and support this great cause!

RVANews.com and Richmond.com are both posting menus as they come in, and it doesn’t look like you’ll go wrong with any of the participating restaurants.  In fact, I haven’t been able to choose yet because everything looks so good.  At least I still have a couple of weeks to decide — but reservations should be made as early as possible because the schedules fill up fast!

Where are you going for Restaurant Week this year?  Returning to an old favorite?  Or trying out somewhere new? Please leave a comment to help guide folks that are experiencing Richmond Restaurant Week for the first time!

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Restaurants Tagged With: downtown Richmond, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia

September 20, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

Richmond wins!

Winner at the Delta County Fair, Colorado (LOC)

We're number one!

As I mentioned earlier this year in “Richmond loves its working moms“, I appreciate when the rest of the world acknowledges Richmond’s superiority in all ways. It seems there are lists for everything, and while I find it to be overkill most of the time — any list can justify itself as being relevant and highly insightful by the obvious addition of Richmond (or Virginia as a whole) to the top of its rankings.

Imagine my delight when I found a helpfully compiled list of Richmond’s awards on the Greater Richmond Partnership’s website (here) and a similar but not completely identical list on the City of Richmond’s website (here).

Browse the awards and bookmark the links for future reference.  Find a few that mean  the most to you and let everyone know how great Richmond is! (and feel free to rub it in to friends that live in cities that ranked below us…)

Filed Under: City of Richmond, National News Tagged With: best state, business environment, business owners, Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes, Forbes.com, government, Richmond, Virginia

September 8, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

Official recommendations on the privatization of ABC stores

Virginia Governor, Bob McDonnell, has been getting a lot of news coverage lately over his push to privatize ABC stores statewide:  RTD from 9/3/10, NBC12 from 8/19/10, Hburgnews.com from 8/26/10, Style Weekly from 6/29/10.

This proposal still has a ways to go and many levels of bureaucracy to push through before it becomes reality, but McDonnell ‘s senior staff members have been studying the issue to make recommendations.  Here are their official findings (the full version), which were released today.  You can find the presentations that were made through this link. (although it doesn’t look like it will stay the top story but for so long)

I pulled out a number of points from the press release that I found to be the most intriguing:

  • 1,000 retail licenses will be auctioned off to the highest bidders
  • The licenses will be broken into three categories: 600 licenses for large establishments such as grocery stores; 150 for smaller establishments such as package stores and wine and beer shops; 250 for convenience stores/retail pharmacies
  • No one company will be allowed more than 25% of licenses within each level
  • 1,000 licenses will still give Virginia 1.8 outlets per 10,000 adults, far below the private state average of 3.8 per 10,000 adults
  • Majority of new license holders will be existing stores; Virginians will primarily see new shelves in retail establishments, not new establishments.
  • 332 licenses will be guaranteed for areas currently served by an existing ABC outlet
  • The additional 668 licenses will be granted based on population density
  • The wholesale side will also be privatized, allowing the Commonwealth to completely focus on law enforcement and regulation of distilled spirits
  • There is no tax increase in the privatization proposal
  • The Commonwealth will also make an additional $33 million on the sale of the ABC warehouse in Richmond and 19 state owned outlets
  • The number of ABC enforcement agents will be increased by 25%
  • The Commonwealth, through the ABC board, will maintain health, safety, law enforcement and marketing regulatory authority over private distilled spirit sales and distribution

Also, the point that has been making the most buzz lately is the idea of a 4% tax on the gross liquor receipts for restaurant operators.  That seems to have been taken out of the recommendations (given the 9th bullet point listed above), unless it’s a matter of semantics and they’ve buried it by not calling it a tax.  I didn’t have time to go through, but I’m sure there will be lots of other people combing through the details of this proposal word for word.

Another point that is of particular interest to me is the sale of the ABC main warehouse.  I wonder who will be listing that? *ahem* Mr. Governor, I’d be happy to take a look at it for you!

Filed Under: Government Institutions, Restaurants, Retail Tagged With: ABC law, business environment, business owners, commercial real estate, government, legal, McDonnell, Restaurants, Virginia

July 27, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

Richmond loses a great restaurant talent

There aren’t many restaurateurs that are so widely acclaimed and well-liked as Alain Lecomte.  Richmond has lost a true talent and he will be missed.  Over the years I have heard lots of high praise for both Alain and his restaurant, Chez Max.  Having never met the man personally, I can’t add much that isn’t already covered in the article in this morning’s Richmond Times-Dispatch — “Restaurateur Alain Lecomte dies at 46” (so go read it, *nudge*)

Filed Under: Henrico County, Restaurants Tagged With: business owners, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia

July 8, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

Don’t let them catch you dancing!

Everyone can now rest easy, dancing will no longer be tolerated in the City of Richmond! (Well, when I say “everyone can now rest easy”, I really mean everyone except for those pesky dancers.)  From what I hear, dancing brings about all sorts of immorality so I am relieved that we won’t have dirty dancers parading around making light of the city’s laws. (My research really is confined to movies from the first half of certain movies from the 80’s)

I’m actually a little confused because visitors or transplants to the city are always complaining about how there aren’t many dance clubs here anyways.

Style Weekly has plenty of information in this week’s edition here, including a Q&A follow up session with a representative from the Mayor’s office.

As a tribute to the new City ordinance, here’s a video of some scenes from the movie Footloose:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wROSYW25vhc]

Actually, this ordinance is nothing new here in the Richmond metro area.  Chesterfield and Henrico have been issuing permits (or NOT issuing permits, depending on who you talk to) for a couple of years now.

Here are a few links about the stink from last year about Chesterfield and dance permits:

  • Richmond BizSense article from 3/24/2009
  • Midlothian Exchange article from 3/24/2009
  • NBC12 article from 3/27/2009

(thanks to Richmond Good Life’s time-capsule archives for those links!)

Henrico has the same type of ordinance and dance club permits, but I recently had a tenant that had to apply for one and it wasn’t a huge ordeal.

If you’ve run against any of these dance ordinances or know of how it’s handled in other areas, I’d love to hear about your experiences.  Leave a comment!

Filed Under: City of Richmond, Government Institutions, Hanover County, Henrico County, Legal, Restaurants Tagged With: business environment, downtown Richmond, government, legal, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia

July 1, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

Breakin’ the law! Or not… (new real estate laws)

July 1st each year is when most of the new legislation that was passed by the State of Virginia takes effect. This year (as every year), there are a number of changes that will directly impact the real estate business.  — Side note: Thank you to the Virginia Association of Realtors, RPAC, and the local associations for all of their hard work in getting these laws proposed and lobbying to get them passed!

VARbuzz has a great summary, so be sure to go there for the full list.

Here, I want to highlight a few of the new laws/updates that I found particularly interesting and/or encouraging:

* Brokers who do the right thing won’t be punished (amnesty for honesty). A real estate broker who discovers, either through a self-audit or through a third party retained by the broker, that the firm or a member of the firm has violated a law or regulation will no longer be penalized if the broker satisfies certain requirements:The broker must notify VREB within 30 days of the discovery of any noncompliance, and he must submit a written plan explaining how the issue will be fixed. This may include entry into a voluntary compliance program. Any voluntary compliance or other remediation must be completed not more than 90 days after the date the plan is submitted to the VREB, and must be certified by the broker or a third party in order to create immunity from enforcement. *Note that bill does not protect the broker if the noncompliance was intentional or the result of gross negligence.*

* Landlord and tenant laws changed. A number of changes were made to landlord and tenant laws this year. Some key revisions:For leases governed by the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act:

* Landlords are now allowed to provide information about tenants to a commissioner of the revenue and, in the case of a military tenant, to his commanding officer.
* A landlord may withhold a reasonable portion of the security deposit to satisfy unpaid water and sewer bills.
* Interest rates on security deposits are updated for 2010.
* Utility charges are treated as rent.
* The definitions of “commencement date” and “effective date” of leases are added to the Act.
* Several other things were clarified as to landlord-tenant law generally:
o the bifurcated rent and possession practice in some courts
o what property managers and Realtors® can do in court without a lawyer
o that interest runs on all judgment amounts

* Vested rights are better protected. If a local government issues a permit (other than a building permit) for a property improvement, it can’t change its mind and later declare those improvements to be illegal (although it can find them to be nonconforming).The law also clarifies that a property owner may replace an on-site sewage system for an existing building in the same general location, even if a new sewage system would no longer be permitted in that location. However, if access to a sanitary sewer system is available the property owner must connect to it.

*If a rental property occupied by a tenant is foreclosed upon, the landlord must transfer any security deposit to the new owner of the property, and the new owner, on termination of the lease, must return any security deposit and any interest owed to the tenant in accordance with the provisions of the lease. Interpleader actions limited to disposition of an earnest money deposit may be brought in district court even in cases where the amount of the deposit exceeds the ordinary jurisdictional limits of district court cases.

Filed Under: Government Institutions, Legal Tagged With: legal, property management, real estate development, Virginia

June 22, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

What if the last owner lost their ABC license?

Every once in a while a potential restaurant buyer will ask me about how any past ABC violations may affect the ABC licensing of a new establishment.  Here’s a fairly extreme case, but an important lesson to learn (from a RTD article last week, “Former Velvet strip club site can’t sell alcohol“):

Under state law, the ABC Board may refuse to allow a hearing on a license request if a license for that location has been refused or revoked within 12 months.

….

“It is enforcement’s position that without a significant period of time separating the Velvet reputation and clientele from that location, the reopening of a similar establishment will contribute to the reoccurrence of the same issues dealt with in the Velvet hearing,” said Francis J. Monahan, director of the law-enforcement bureau.

Oh…what’s the lesson you say?  Don’t mess with the Virginia ABC board! You may not agree with them and it may suck sometimes, but you have no choice but to play by their rules if you want to remain in business.

(I wrote about Sam Moore’s ongoing ABC issues a couple of years ago, too:  “Poor, poor, strip club owner…“)

Filed Under: Buying a Business, Legal, Restaurants Tagged With: business environment, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia

April 14, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

More info about The Devil’s Triangle!

This is an article that you don’t want to miss about The Devil’s Triangle by Alix Bryan

I said my bit in a post yesterday, after seeing Alix’s videos — but there is SO much more that can be said, and she has a quite a few of the stories I have heard over the years about the rough days here in the Triangle. Be sure to read all about it!

Filed Under: B&H News, New Urbanism, Redevelopment, Restaurants, Retail Tagged With: Bandazian & Holden, business owners, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, property management, Redevelopment, Richmond, Virginia

April 13, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

Insight into The Devil’s Triangle

There is a little-discussed part of Richmond’s Upper Fan/Museum District that was once a pretty rough area — “The Devil’s Triangle”, or as it is sometimes called, “The Bermuda Triangle”.  Now it is an economic corridor with independent shops and restaurants that serve the residents of the Museum District, the Fan District, and anyone else that wants to wander through.

I lived in the area for several years back in the mid to late nineties, and I missed most of the rougher times but heard plenty about Felix’s, Cafe 21, and the Ritz — now Caliente, Cafe Diem, and Arianna’s.

We moved our offices over to 604 North Sheppard Street several years ago to be in the heart of the revitalization going on, and to show our commitment to the area.  Our founder and CEO, Bedros Bandazian owns all of the commercial along this part of Sheppard Street except for the 7-Eleven, as well as some nearby commercial buildings — so there was already a strong commitment within the company to revitalizing the area.  Our move made a further commitment, and  of course we all patronize the surrounding businesses faithfully.

The transformation has taken another step with the most recent additions of:

  • Sylvia’s Stitch & Suds (renovated coin laundrymat, now a seamstress and laundry),
  • Arianna’s Grill (Italian restaurant from the extended family who also own Mary Angela’s and several others around town — built out from almost from scratch shell)
  • The parking lot in the rear of the buildings at Park & Sheppard (repaved, landscaped, lighted, and available for any customers of the shops along Sheppard)

The Devil Doesn’t Live Here Anymore from Alix Bryan on Vimeo.
[vimeo vimeo.com/10851674]

The Devil’s Triangle is located in the Museum District, which is nestled within the Upper Fan, of Richmond, VA.

This area received its name from three rough local bars, which formed a triangle. The bars have changed ownership, and the area has undergone a major transformation.

However, the nickname has stuck, and has a quirky appeal to locals–locals who never went when it was actually the Devil’s Triangle.

It wasn’t unlikely for police to find wanted suspects in the bars, or for gun and fistfights to happen almost nightly.

Origin of a nickname from Alix Bryan on Vimeo.[vimeo vimeo.com/14935680]

Rich Holden, former owner of Felix, talks about how a two block area came to be known as The Devil’s Triangle. Located in Richmond, VA, this area was home to drug trafficking, prostitution, bar brawls and gunfights. The triangle consisted of three bars, The Felix, The Ritz, and Cafe 21.

Although Holden called it “The Bermuda Triangle,” that moniker is also commonly synonymous with “The Devil’s Triangle.”

[editor’s note: Richard Holden is now the Principal Broker and President here at Bandazian & Holden, Inc.]

I’m eagerly awaiting Alix’s article to go along with the videos, and if she’ll allow me I’ll share it with you in a later post — or at least I’ll link over to it! I greatly appreciate her allowing me to use the videos here, and encourage you to go to her Vimeo site to take a look at her other work!

If you haven’t visited the Devil’s Triangle in a while, you should!  Visit the Black Hand for some coffee that was roasted right there on site. Come sit on Caliente’s patio and enjoy the spring breeze while you have dinner. Come listen to some amazing music down at Cafe Diem. Or explore one of the other shops or restaurants.

[edit (4/13/10, 2:27pm): After a couple of off-blog responses, I’m curious to ask — If you are familiar with the Devil’s Triangle, please share some memories of your time there with us in the comment section below!]

Filed Under: B&H News, New Urbanism, Redevelopment, Restaurants, Retail Tagged With: Bandazian & Holden, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, property management, Redevelopment, Richmond, Virginia

March 22, 2010 by Nathan Hughes

New chapter for a Church Hill institution

St Johns Realty AND Bandazian & HoldenSt. John’s Realty has been in the property management business almost as long as we have here at Bandazian & Holden.  While I haven’t seen a record of what year they started, I’ve been told that they have been doing residential property management for somewhere between 20-30 years. (FYI – B&H was founded in 1974.)

With the passing last year of the founder and principal broker owner, Danny Athans [edited 3/23/10, per information from Church Hill People’s News — link to announcement here], the future of St. John’s Realty was unsure.  I am proud to announce that we at Bandazian & Holden have stepped up to take over the accounts, and all of the years of hard work by St. John’s Realty will not go to waste.

There are a lot of other details that will be forthcoming, but there is a lot of work that we are doing right now to get in touch with the property owners and tenants to alert them to the change, and to get all of the files in order.

We are very excited for the opportunity to serve this new group of property owners and tenants, and to expand our presence in Church Hill!

Filed Under: Company News, Multi-family Housing, Residential Tagged With: apartments, Bandazian & Holden, Church Hill, property management, Richmond, St. John's Realty, Virginia

July 12, 2007 by Nathan Hughes

How does VA rate according to Forbes.com?

It was tight….who am I kidding, of course Virginia came out on top as the top-ranked state in the Forbes.com annual results.  A key point to keep in mind is that this is the second annual "The Best States For Business" article, and Virginia won last year, too!

The article is quick to point out, however, that Washington is right on our heels, and that we did not dominate the categories as we did last year.  The flip side to that is Virginia dominated the categories last year, and we still won this year!

Two key issues for going forward from here, and to capitalize on our success thus far:
1)  Washington did very well overall, and other states had high marks for their successes.  We should take the opportunity to study what they’ve done that made them successful in those areas, and see if those principles can be applied in Virginia.  Not all of those ideas can be easily transplanted, but we would be remiss to not consider what can be learned.
2)  Just like we highlighted from last year’s award from Forbes, we need to mazimize the good press from this recognition.  Let’s use it to draw in fresh blood, and to enhance the business environment.

To see what some Virginia politicians are saying about the outstanding results, see Vivian J. Page’s blog entry, "VA again Best State for Business".

Out of the 50 states, Virginia ranked as follows:
17th – Business Costs
5th   – Labor
1st   – Regulatory Environment
11th – Economic Climate
8th   – Growth Prospects
6th   – Quality of Life

Congrats, Virginia!!

(See also: RVA in Top 10 for Job Hunting from 8-11-06 & Maximizing the Good Press from 8-17-06)

Filed Under: General, Web/Tech Tagged With: best state, business environment, Forbes, Forbes.com, Virginia

March 23, 2007 by Nathan Hughes

Why There Are No Bars in Virginia

No, really — there is no such thing as a bar in Virginia.  As a very deliberate result of the Virginia ABC Board’s regulations on the food/alcohol ratio, there are only restaurants that happen to serve food.

At the end of every year, restaurants must file
a mixed beverage annual report that details alcohol sales and shows the
ratio of food to liquor. ABC stipulates that each restaurant must sell
enough food and soda to account for at least 45 percent of liquor and
non-liquor sales, beer and wine excluded

A recent Food Fight article (which is the source of the previous quote) in Brick [EDITOR’S NOTE, 7/2/16: The Brick Weekly website is gone, so the links have been removed] gives a good overview of the impact this has on local business owners, and views from both sides.  Mostly, it is a government regulation, and just like anything else with the Health Board or the ABC Board, as a restaurant owner it is better to just learn to live with the rules and jump through their hoops and just get back to making money.

God help anyone that can help change the system and these arbitrary limits, but it’s not worth trying to make waves until you are firmly established and can work from the inside.

I still don’t feel like I have a grasp on why this rule is in place, except for the typically cynical view that Richmond is behind the times and too much under the influence of the “Moral” Minority.  The reasons that I have heard so far just ring hollow.  (i.e., This law is not necessary for keeping bars from popping up on every corner.  There are building codes and regulations on usage that can handle that.)

Something just feels wrong about my gut reaction against the regulation, so if someone can explain it, then please do.  I’m all ears (or eyes, in the case of reading responses).

Filed Under: Government Institutions, Legal, Restaurants Tagged With: ABC law, business environment, Restaurants, Virginia

November 30, 2006 by Nathan Hughes

UPDATE: Cineplex Slated for Boulevard

This is a call-back to a posting several months ago (5/18/06, to be exact): New Cineplex Slated for the Boulevard?  — see the post to get up-to-speed

This has been long in the works, obviously, and is still in the early stages.  As Style Weekly pointed out in this week’s edition ("Merger Won’t Slow Boulevard Complex"), the architectural plans are still being drawn up.

But there is no rush for Bow Tie Partners (the developers), as Richmond Steel isn’t planned to relocate for another 8 months.

Some interesting facts from the article:

  • the new cineplex will be called Movieland
  • the redevelopment project is being called Boulevard Square
  • there will be 13,000+ sq ft of retail and restaurants in the development
  • the area where Bowtie originally planned for a cineplex is called Jefferson Square (between Main, Cary, 3rd & 4th Streets)

Filed Under: Redevelopment, Restaurants, Retail Tagged With: Bowtie Partners, cineplex, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, new movie theater, real estate development, Redevelopment, Richmond, Virginia

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