nhughes

That's the one.

I stay away from buying dessert out, so maybe I'm not the best judge, BUT it does sound a little high. I would expect more like $3.50-4.50. What I really like is when I've seen smaller desserts, and smaller dessert prices. I would be much more inclined to buy a $1.00-1.50 bite-sized treat, rather than a $4.00 dessert that's way too big for one person. Of course, I've bought plenty of desserts to share, but there's a resistance in my mind to spend so much on a dessert. I feel like it's more of a marketing or psychology of sales issue.

EMPIRE is carrying on a long-standing punk scene/music venue tradition. ROCKITZ --> METRO --> SWEETWATER --> EMPIRE (I may have some of the names slightly off, so feel free to correct me.) Although, I don't know where EMPIRE holds the bands. Do they use the space upstairs that METRO and ROCKITZ used, or do they have the bands on the street level in the main bar? ----------------- And EMPIRE happens to be right beside THE NILE, which used to be HOLE IN THE WALL, a tiny bar that had bands a lot of the time too.

Uh oh.....guess we'd better slow down how many times a day we check out this thread then! We can't lose Burt! Oh, and no I don't know who is doing the restaurant. I've had a few people asking about starting Ethiopian restaurants over the past year or so, so I imagine it's probably a new player.

We have BOJANGLES here already, or at least we used to. I can't think of where it was, and it's not on the list of locations from their website. I guess it's not there anymore, then... Anyone remember where it used to be? On another note, rumor has it the former MOONDANCE/WILDCATS on North 17th Street will be an Ethiopian restaurant.

I was down there last Thursday. The commercial side is taking a little longer to get started than expected, but there has been significant progress overall. I believe there are 3 or 4 condo buildings already in use, along with at least one parking deck. Not a lot of info for you, but there it is.

I thought that Papa John's started in Virginia Beach, but after reading the following from the Papa John's website I think it was actually started in Indiana. >>> As a high school student working at a local pizza pub in Jeffersonville, Indiana, Papa John's founder John Schnatter realized that there was something missing from national pizza chains: a superior-quality traditional pizza delivered to the customer's door. His dream was to one day open a pizza restaurant that would fill that void. In 1984, "Papa" John Schnatter knocked out a broom closet located in the back of his father's tavern (Mick's Lounge), sold his prized 1972 Z28 Camaro, purchased $1,600 worth of used restaurant equipment, and began selling his pizzas to the tavern's customers. The customers loved the pizza so much that John was able to expand by moving into adjoining space, eventually leading to the opening of the first Papa John's restaurant in 1985. Today, there are more than 3,000 Papa John's restaurants worldwide. More importantly, Papa John's remains committed to its heritage of making a superior-quality, traditional pizza. >>>

DEUCES WILD was abandoned at the old WILDCATS location. The owner of BIG DADDY'S had too much else going on, and the space was too small for the big response he was getting. I don't know what the new plan is, but it's not from BIG DADDY'S this time around. FALLOUT is indeed next to ELEMENT. I think it's between MARS BAR and ELEMENT, actually. And journiyin, I tried for a bit to find a website for FALLOUT without any luck, either.

The company just promised the poorly performing execs bonuses to stay on board for certain lengths of time. My initial reaction was that it sounded like the idiocy that has gotten Circuit City into the shape it's in now, but friends pointed out that they may be doing that to maintain leadership (however poor) through a buyout. Better to keep things stable during the transition and let the new guys make their own revisions. I have to say, that made a lot more sense than thinking that they were really rewarding such poor performance.

A few things for you guys: 1.) If you haven't already, check out the "Letters" section of today's Style for a rebuttal to Je Depew's "Back Page" about the failure of JUMPIN' J'S in Church Hill. The two authors of the letters are Bill Hartsock (a Church Hill resident), and Andy Howell (former owner of AVENUE 805, currently involved in CAFE RUSTICA). 2.) There is a new club open in Shockoe Bottom. FALLOUT is an industrial, fallout-shelter themed restaurant/bar, taking the place of BOTTOM'S BILLIARDS at 117 North 18th Street. 3.) There is some activity at the old WILDCATS/MOONDANCE location at 9 North 17th Street. I couldn't tell what was being done exactly, but there is definitely something brewing...

Soon there will be a new Lebanese restaurant debuting on West Broad Street. The sign and the facade have already been changed at 4401 West Broad Street, formerly LA CASITA Mexican Restaurant. THE PHOENICIAN will be opening soon, per the banner on the front of the building. Don't worry, the well-loved, Northside LA CASITA at 5204 Brook Road isn't going anywhere...

I guess the change-over to nonsmoking didn't hurt business at O'TOOLE'S...

That's interesting. I haven't even heard of it before. Thanks for the heads up, dklee!

I thought you all might be interested in a blog posting on Urban Richmond -- or more to the really interesting part, scroll down to the comments section of that post. These comments start back in March, but go through an update posted just yesterday. It's about Prodigy Partners (who still don't seem to have their website up and running), and a few restaurant ventures they have in the works -- some of which I haven't even heard of.

FULL KEE on Horsepen Road in the West End. Authentic enough that the Japanese executives that I used to work with would take visiting Asians there to entertain them. Oh, and I love it there, too! It's on of the only places in Richmond that does dim sum (they do it on Sundays for lunch, if I remember correctly).

Thanks for the insight from an out-of-town visitor! I'm glad you all enjoyed your experiences here.

By the way, I understand that the Carytown NYE event put a hurt on the restaurants and bars that traditionally see big numbers for that night. Understandable, though, since the people had to have come from somewhere. It should mean that the restaurants and bars step it up a notch to compete. I wonder what the local clubs are doing differently to keep people at their establishments...

Thanks for the input, VPDcurt! I've walked past Sette a couple of times, going to events in Church Hill, and I keep meaning to get down there for a meal. If I can keep it in mind, maybe I'll finally make it down there!

Great article. I missed picking up Style this week because of the holiday, so thanks for posting the link! burt -- There's some info in there about the red-tape you were asking about in the restaurants thread. The comments are very much on point.

I like that a lot. I'll have to get the idea circulating down there for us! Logistically, it may be a problem for some of the restaurants because the back alley is usually where the kitchen access is. Maybe it's something for restaurants to consider when they are renovating or building out to begin with...

There are two sides to GOODFELLA'S, and the side that is closer to BIG DADDY'S will be more of a dining area from what I understand. It could just be that the owner of BIG DADDY'S (who was the same guy that took both of us through, apparently) either changed his mind on how to divide it up over the past couple of years, or the rooms in GOODFELLA'S will be stylistically more different that I understand they will. As far as I know it is still there. That's another building we manage, but I don't handle it personally. WOW -- it's not often I have so much to say, or the ability to say it. I always have to be careful because of confidentiality, but these were pretty straight-forward questions. I didn't give anything away here that isn't more or less public knowledge.

It's all part of the construction process. Part of it is getting the inspections scheduled and completed. Part is getting approvals through the system for project plans, and undoing things that you were told in error to do in the first place. I haven't had to deal with it personally, just lots of anecdotal evidence of inefficiencies from hearing small businesses talk about it. ABC licenses take a while, but you just have to realize it's going to take 30-45 days to get a license. It may take longer if neighbors challenge the license, such as the Fan District Association does with every single new license that is proposed in their area. That's one of the reasons it makes so much sense to buy an existing business. That was the old ST. SOMEWHERE, I believe -- and it was something else before that, and that name is better known (just not to me). I've tried to get in touch with the owner, with no success, for clients in the past. The only thing I've heard is that it was on the market some time ago for an outrageous price. Since then, I haven't heard anything about the owner resurfacing. I wish I could, though. I have a number of people that have wanted to go in there.

You must be referring to 15 North 17th Street, which was the old BUTCH'S MARKET. It's still vacant, and represented by Bandazian & Holden (the company where I am an agent). We have very nice apartments above the space, so we have to be a little selective about what kind of business goes there. The general consensus is that a restaurant or retail space would do well, but anything with pounding loud music would be ruled out (because of the tenants upstairs). It's a beautiful space, and the owner of the building didn't spare any expense with the retail spaces or the apartments above them. I leased that building out to an undisclosed occupant (for now). I think everyone will be very happy to see it once the business is up and running, which shouldn't take too long from now. The build-out has been progressing faster than was expected. Yeah, there was some kind of public sewer problem. Unfortunately, everyone thought the new tenant at 6 North 18th Street had torn up the sidewalk as part of his renovation. The timing was coincidental. Yes, it's the alley that leads from East Franklin Street to Walnut Alley.

Wow, burt -- lots of questions! JULEP'S hasn't spoken to me about moving into 1717 E Franklin (and even if they had, I probably couldn't talk about it just yet). The space was indeed an art gallery at one point, and before that I think it was a clothing store. Good memory! I can barely remember it from one person telling me about it to the next. The space is in the process of being built out, and has been for a couple of years. Things are progressing, but it's a slow process -- especially when a tenant hasn't been secured. The owner was going to run it themselves, but just had too much else going on. And yeah, it does back up to ALLEY KATZ, more or less. SUMO SAN is still open as far as I know. In fact, the owner's second location is opening soon (if it hasn't already) in Carytown, where the ROLY POLY was. I'm not sure where the old CHETTI'S was... more to come..... I had to split this into a couple of posts.